"White House Works to Shape Debate Over Health Law"... with a prayer vigil.

The quote in the post title is the headline of this NYT article by Robert Pear, which begins by telling us that the White House is undertaking "an aggressive campaign" to milk maximum political advantage out of the upcoming 3 days of Supreme Court oral argument over the Affordable Care Act.

On Wednesday, White House officials summoned dozens of leaders of nonprofit organizations that strongly back the health law to help them coordinate plans for a prayer vigil, press conferences and other events outside the court when justices hear arguments for three days beginning March 26.

Coordinate plans for a prayer vigil?!

That's one way to shape debate, showing people praying to keep Obamacare alive. But why would the White House want to create the impression that they believe that God, influenced by prayer, might sway the Supreme Court? Or is it that they believe that some Supreme Court Justices might be swayed by the spectacle of people praying for a statute to be held constitutional? They can't want us to believe they believe that. Presumably, they just want to promote the belief that Obamacare is terribly important and people desperately want it preserved. Personally, I think Obama is better off politically if the Supreme Court strikes down the law, so for maximum political advantage what he ought to want is simply to impress the electorate with the desperate need for Obamacare, so if its taken away we'll feel outraged instead of relieved.