Over at New Majority, David Frum complains :
“What Obama did not do: pick the most learned or intelligent or wisest lawyer available to him.
>What he did do: pick the justice he deemed most likely to secure him a demographic constituency in 2008.”
I’ll reserve judgement on Sotomayor until I’ve actually, you know, read her decisions. When I do, I don’t think I’ll like them very much. But it’s absurd to suggest that presidents can be expected to select the “most learned or intelligent or wisest” lawyers available to them. Usually, they pick nominees who will win them some political advantage—and not infrequently, personal sycophants.
There, of course, some real “merit” picks. Chief Justice Roberts was among them. But seriously: Roger Taney, Hugo Black, Harriet Miers? As James suggest below, it’s no good pretending that the Supreme Court isn’t a deeply political institution. I’ll add: that’s nothing new, and certainly predates the Warren Court.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
