the letter that the president's position is consistent with the one held by the doj for centuries, that the courts do have the final say, but there's a suggestion that when it comes to the commerce clause, the courts should give congress some leeway, and the letter talks a lot about precedent and says the courts accord particular deference when evaluating the appropriateness of the means congress has chosen to exercise its enumerated powers, including the commerce clause, to accomplish constitutional ends. and judge smith from the fifth circuit court of appeals told attorney general holder he wanted a 3-page single-spaced letter. he didn't quite fill up that third page but the letter certainly lays out a lot, jon. jon: so that's the attorney general's explanation. is the white house amplify thank letter at stphaul. >> well, the white house is still trying to explain the president's comments from monday about the courts, and at a briefing yesterday, press secretary jay carney was challenged by a reporter from cbs news just to admit that the president made a