The Oath

The Obama White House and The Supreme Court

By: Jeffrey Toobin

Narrated by: Robertson Dean

From the prizewinning author of The Nine, a gripping insider's account of the momentous ideological war between the John Roberts Supreme Court and the Obama administration.

From the moment John Roberts, the chief justice of the United States, blundered through the Oath of Office at Barack Obama's inauguration, the relationship between the Supreme Court and the White House has been confrontational. Both men are young, brilliant, charismatic, charming, determined to change the course of the nation—and completely at odds on almost every major constitutional issue. One is radical; one essentially conservative. The surprise is that Obama is the conservative—a believer in incremental change, compromise, and pragmatism over ideology. Roberts—and his allies on the Court—seek to overturn decades of precedent: in short, to undo the ultimate victory FDR achieved in the New Deal.
This ideological war will crescendo during the 2011-2012 term, in which several landmark cases are on the Court's docket—most crucially, a challenge to Obama's controversial health-care legislation. With four new justices joining the Court in just five years, including Obama's appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, this is a dramatically—and historically—different Supreme Court, playing for the highest of stakes.
No one is better positioned to chronicle this dramatic tale than Jeffrey Toobin, whose prize-winning bestseller The Nine laid bare the inner workings and conflicts of the Court in meticulous and entertaining detail. As the nation prepares to vote for President in 2012, the future of the Supreme Court will also be on the ballot.

biased

What did you like best about The Oath? What did you like least?

It was well written as I thought it would be.

What aspect of Robertson Dean’s performance would you have changed?

He did quite well

Was The Oath worth the listening time?

Only if you buy most everything the political left spouts. Both side of the political arguement have points. The problem is when the press, or books only want to examine things thru their eyes and with facts contured to fit their way of thinking. A really good writer should leave you wondering what side the writer is really on. Toobin went in to extreme detail to explain the right movements of the court. The left barely got mentioned with little real details.The Constition was written to specify, and limit Government power and reach. Most every court fight is about that power. All forms of Government take power they have no right to, and never give it up. To be worth the money I spent, I would rather have not have it constantly thown in my face, what side of the arguement Toobin is on.

Some repetitiveness

Repeat from the nine with some important updates. Interesting to learn how long the Republicans have been working to undermine the integrity of this branch of government.

Good listen, not great, but good.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes if they're into politics.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think Roberts is the most complex. I wouldn't say favorite.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Compelling

Well written, expertly read. Granted, it comes across as partisan and favors personal over corporate interests, but the information and background give you a real sense of how important the court is to our everyday lives. I now look at the makeup of the court and its cases as an unfolding drama.

A look at the Supreme Court

Toobin a lawyer and legal reporter based this book on interviews with the Justices and approximately forty of their law clerks. The book is a narrative of the early years of the Roberts Court which produced a series of 5 to 4 decisions that pitted the Obama administration against the conservative Justices. The book ends with the tie breaking vote to uphold The Affordable Care Act. Toobin reveals the goal of the conservative Justices in rolling back laws on gun rights, abortion, gender discrimination, campaign finance and so on. The Republican Party has controlled the Court since 1953. Toobin looks at how the current makeup of the Court reflects changes in the current Republican party at large, underscoring the fallout created by the departure of the moderate Republican Justices. The most enjoyable part of the book is the human details about the Justices. The book provides a brief biography of each of the justices that has served on the Robert Court. I recently read “The Roberts Court” by Marcia Coyle which covered the same time frame. Coyle went into detail about the cases and the law, Toobin proves more information about the Justice personal life and beliefs than does Coyle. Reading both books provided me with a better understanding of the current court than reading just one of the books. Toobin’s thesis is what he calls the competing visions of Roberts and Obama. Both are intelligent, both products of Chicago, both graduated of Harvard Law School but they have a different view of the meaning of the Constitution. Obama believes the Court should be stable and make gradually changes. Roberts believes in rapid changes to the conservative ideals. I found it interesting that Toobin credits Justice Thomas as the father of the Tea Party. Toobin points out that the Republican Party has made it a priority to put its people into judgeship in all categories of State and Federal courts. Obama has been negligent in appointing Federal Judges. Toobin states a Republican Senator complained “how are we supposed to block appointments if Obama does not appoint them.” Robertson Dean did a good job narrating the book.