McCain part two

Of all the areas where a President leaves his mark the one with the longest lasting impact is in his appointment of judges. With lifetime appointments and no method of limiting their power other than all too rare reversals on appeal or impeachment judges hold a disproportionate amount of power in our society, and their impact lasts long after the President who appointed them has left office. The LA Times has laid out the differing views on the role of the judiciary that are held by John McCain and Barack Obama.

McCain -

"judicial activism" is the central problem facing the judiciary. He called it the "common and systematic abuse . . . by an elite group . . . we entrust with judicial power." On Thursday, he criticized the California Supreme Court for giving gays and lesbians the right to marry, saying he doesn't "believe judges should be making these decisions."

...

McCain promised that, if elected, he would follow President Bush's model in choosing Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.

That could establish a large conservative majority on the court for years. With conservatives in full control, the court would probably overturn Roe vs. Wade and the national right to have an abortion. The justices also could give religion a greater role in government and the schools, and block the move toward same-sex marriage.

Obama -

concerned about a conservative court that tilted to the side of "the powerful against the powerless," and to corporations and the government against individuals. "What's truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves," he said in response to McCain.

...

Obama has also praised current Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David H. Souter. "I want people on the bench who have enough empathy, enough feeling, for what ordinary people are going through," Obama said.

"Much as I like and respect Barack, I think his vision of judging couldn't be more wrong," said Bradford Berenson, a Washington lawyer who worked in the current Bush White House and knew Obama at Harvard Law School. "Whereas McCain wants our judges and Supreme Court justices to be faithful to the Constitution . . . and decide cases according to law, Barack seems to think judges should systematically favor certain parties or groups and decide cases according to their personal sympathies or feelings about how who needs or deserves help."

And there you have it. Reason two to vote for McCain.