Kevin doesn’t trust McCain to pick the right kind of justices. I don’t really either. But you know what? I didn’t trust Bush to make good selections either, and, Harriet Meyers debacle aside, we wouldn’t be thinking about winning Heller if Al Gore or John Kerry had won. Bush could have done better, but Roberts and Alito are far from the worst choices that could have been made.
I know exactly the kind of justices that Hillary and Obama will pack the court with. How does the thought of Obillery picking Scalia’s replacement sit with you? It doesn’t sit well with me either, but Scalia will be 81 by the time the next president leaves office. Think he’ll make it? If either of those two win, I certainly hope so.
For whatever reason, conservatives didn’t have their act together this primary, and so we’re stuck with the second string. Perhaps folks will say I’ve drank the kool-aid, but can you imagine the damage that up to six Obillery nominated justices will do as we try to refine the scope of the second amendment post Heller? Make no mistake about it, I think that McCain’s choices are likely to be less than stellar, but I see no reason to slit our wrists electorally and let Obillery seriously alter the ideological composition of The Court.
One thing to consider is that while we might not get exactly what we want as president, McCain can’t be guaranteed to get exactly who he wants as Supreme Court justice. Justice Kennedy and Souter are prime examples of that. Also note that our most conservative justice, with the greatest fealty toward the constitution, Justice Thomas, was nominated by the decidedly unconservative George H.W. Bush. With McCain, we run a much better chance of getting a more favorable justice than we do with either of the Democrats.
