As for those Obamacare delays, take your pick of theories:

By embracing them, Obama is wisely placating business interests. That gets him through midterm elections without firing up conservatives to the disastrous point of losing the Senate and facing the real prospect of constant funding battles to keep Obamacare afloat.

Or, he’s caving into business by agreeing to delays that will ultimately gut his crowning achievement. After all, business interests had three years to get ready for Obamacare. Why let them off the hook now?

True believers take comfort in history, when Medicare and Medicaid were enacted and then implementation was delayed. “The same kind of questions were coming then from Democrats in Congress,” recalled Johnston.

There’s some risk in Obama’s approach. If Republicans regain control of the Senate, Obamacare will have less of a foothold because of the delays embraced by the president. With Republicans in charge, Congress could theoretically vote to repeal Obamacare.