By Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political Analyst

Editor's note: Gloria Borger is CNN's chief political analyst, appearing regularly on shows such as "AC360˚" "The Situation Room," "John King, USA" and "State of the Union."

(CNN) - There are plenty of ways to game the upcoming Supreme Court decision on health care reform, and they've all been said: President Obama loses in court, he wins with his base. Or it's a severe blow, potentially fatal. Or Republicans benefit if they win, because they were "right" all along. Or the GOP loses, because it has to figure out what to offer for health care instead.

And so it goes.

But there's something else going on here, and it's more meaningful than some short-term political skirmishing. This Supreme Court case is the Waterloo for political polarization, because it underscores something we should have known all along: Great changes in national public policy should never be erected on slender partisan majorities.

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CNN's Brian Todd reports on how the Occupy DC protest seems to be at a breaking point.

RELATED POST: Protesters vow to stand their ground at Occupy DC camp

Washington (CNN) - It didn’t take very long for the House of Representatives to get out of Dodge. Within minutes of passing the debt ceiling legislation Monday night, they adjourned until Sept. 7. The August-plus-a-week-of-September recess has begun. Those members who could still get out of Washington Monday night bolted to Reagan National, Dulles or Baltimore/Washington Airport. The others waited until Tuesday.

Now that the Senate has passed the legislation, the senators are doing the exact same thing – rushing to get out of Washington for five weeks.
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With a debt crisis looming, are the nation's political extreme's calling the shots in DC? CNN's Jim Acosta reports.

RELATED STORY: The 'big headache': Boehner backed into corner by tea party, Obama

Washington (CNN) –- Now, with only a week to go before the Treasury Department’s August 2 deadline for raising the debt limit, I must confess I am getting increasingly gloomy. I’m very worried no deal will be reached between President Obama and the Republican and Democratic leadership in Congress.

There may be some serious backroom talks going on to achieve an agreement. I certainly hope there are. But all I see in public is a lot of political posturing. If there’s no deal, there will be default, and the consequences will be awful for all of us.
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Lisa Sylvester reports on the money special interest groups are spending to sway opinion on the debt limit debate.

As U.S. politicians try to work a deal to slash the deficit, there's a flurry of lobbyists fighting to be spared cuts. CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports.

SEE ALSO: Obama continues debt talks with Democrats, then Republicans

(CNN)- White House adviser Elizabeth Warren will not helm the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau permanently after all, but she's not losing sleep over it. Instead, she plans on thinking of another kind of political future once she passes on the baton of leading the agency.

She wouldn't confirm or deny current thoughts of a Senate challenge to Massachusetts GOP Sen. Scott Brown, but she did reveal where heavy thinking may take place in an interview with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer Monday.

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Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he will vote for a debt ceiling deal even if it includes tax increases.

RELATED: Obama renews push for grand bargain on debt

(CNN) - It’s hard not to be a bit cynical in watching politics unfold in Washington.

As you know, the Republicans are all lined up resisting any effort to simply pass an increase in the nation’s debt ceiling with a straight up-or-down vote. They insist on large-scale spending cuts.
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