Election Is The Difference Between “More Fair” And “Less Fair” Judiciary Obama Says

From CBS News' Maria Gavrilovic:

(WAYNE, PA) Barack Obama suggested today that, if elected president, John McCain will appoint judges to the Supreme Court who will likely overturn Roe v. Wade. While expressing his support for the Supreme Court ruling on Guantanamo, Obama said McCain’s opposition to the ruling demonstrates his likelihood to appoint ultra conservative judges to highest court.

“John McCain has basically said he would appoint judges who don’t see a right to privacy, and as a consequence, would be likely to overturn Roe v Wade,” Obama told a small group of supporters at a town hall meeting here, “You’re just one justice away from that.”

He used Senior Associate Justice, John Stevens, as an example of someone likely to retire soon and whose seat may be vacated during an Obama or McCain presidency. He also said that decisions made in lower courts will be influenced by who is elected and can “make the country a little more fair and a little less fair.”

He added, “If you want to preserve civil liberties, if you want to preserve civil rights, if you want to make sure that the courts are looking out for consumers and not just big business then that should be a factor in your decision making in this election.”

Earlier, Obama said he supports the Supreme Court’s ruling on Guantanamo because habeas corpus is “who we are. … I mean you remember during the Nuremberg trials, part of what made us different was even after these Nazis had performed atrocities that no one had ever seen before, we still gave them a day in court and that taught the entire world about who we are.”