Thursday, October 13, 2005

The Crux of the Problem

The mantra of candidate Bush was "in the mold of Scalia and Thomas". The mantra of President Bush is, "Trust me". Today, though, we have further proof that the President must not be trusted.

Apparently, President Bush took Ms. Miers' religion into account in her selection.
“People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers,” Bush told reporters at the White House. “They want to know Harriet Miers’ background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers’ life is her religion.”

Article VI of the Constitution clearly states, "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." It appears as though the same man who wants conservatives to trust his judgment on the judicial philosophy of someone who has no track record on constitutional issues has not read the very document that he expects her to apply. To be sure, there is nothing wrong with choosing an evangelical to serve on the Court, but a potential nominee's religion should not appear on her resume. If the President thinks that Ms. Miers' religion qualifies her for service on the Court, then he himself clearly does not understand the Constitution.

What's more, character should be a given in Supreme Court nominees. Judges are permitted to serve during good behavior. If they cannot be expected to refrain from bad behavior, then the should not be nominated in the first place. Nobody, save perhaps Dr. Dobson, actually cares about the religion of Ms. Miers. The three central issues in determining whether a person belongs on the Court are intelligence, experience, and judicial philosophy. Ms. Miers religion tells us nothing about any of those three categories, and by all indications, she is lacking in each of them. The fact that the President is reduced to emphasizing her religion clearly illustrates that he has no better arguments on the other three points. It is time for him to reconsider. Perhaps he'll be able to find time to read the Constitution before selecting the next nominee.

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