Analysis: Court's course in next president's hands
By DAVID ESPO
Associated Press
June 13, 2008
Page 2 of 2
McCain offered a different view in a Republican debate in May 2007.
''One of our greatest problems in America today is justices that legislate from the bench, activist judges,'' he said.
He elaborated seven months later in another debate. ''The judges I would appoint are along the lines of Justices Roberts and Alito, who have a proven record of strict interpretation of the Constitution of the United States,'' a commitment he has repeated often.
McCain voted to confirm both Roberts and Alito, while Obama opposed both.
McCain sought political advantage in that this spring in Winston-Salem, N.C., saying his rival ''went right along with the partisan crowd'' with his opposition, despite claims that he works across party lines.
Both men also describe their intentions by reacting to other controversial rulings.
When the court handed down an opinion that upheld a ban on so-called ''partial birth'' abortions, Obama said he worried that ''conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade,'' the landmark ruling that granted abortion rights to women.
Last year, Obama complained about a different 5-4 decision, one that ruled against Lilly Ledbetter, a longtime manager for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., who claimed job discrimination because of her gender.
McCain, seeing the case through a different lens, defended the decision and called it a defeat for trial lawyers who sought to sue companies.
Whatever the particulars of the case -- and both Obama and McCain have called for Guantanamo to be closed -- it's a debate likely to reverberate through the campaign.
And then resume in earnest when one of the two rivals wins the White House and wields the power of Supreme Court appointment.
''Both a Scalia and a Ginsburg will arrive at the same place most of the time,'' Obama said during the Roberts confirmation hearings. ''What matters at the Supreme Court is those 5 percent of cases that are truly difficult. ... That last mile can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works and the depth and breadth of one's empathy.''
McCain answered derisively in a recent speech recalling Obama's reference to a judge's ''deepest values'' and ''empathy.''
''These vague words attempt to justify judicial activism,'' he said. ''Come to think, they sound like an activist judge wrote them.''
---
EDITOR'S NOTE: David Espo covers presidential politics for The Associated Press.
>> Back -- Page 1 2
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
++ Discuss this topic in The Forum
Current rating:  5.0 out of 5.0 (45 total votes)
| 
