WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., May 6, 2008
McCain Promises Judges Like Roberts, Alito
Presumptive GOP Nominee Castigates Obama For Voting Against Supreme Court Chief Justice
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Photo Essay John McCain Some call him a hero, some a maverick. Will Americans call him Mr. President?
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Interactive The Supreme Court History, traditions and key cases, plus what it takes to get on the bench.
Conservatives contend that federal judges have upset the constitutional balance of power among the courts, the Congress and the presidency by making far-reaching decisions, such as one in 2005 that let cities seize people's homes to make way for shopping malls.
"My nominees will understand that there are clear limits to the scope of judicial power, and clear limits to the scope of federal power," McCain said Tuesday in a speech at Wake Forest University.
McCain, the eventual GOP nominee, promised to appoint judges in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, saything they would interpret the law strictly to curb the scope of their rulings. While McCain didn't mention abortion, the far right understands that such nominees would be likely to limit or perhaps overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.
Obama, on the other hand, voted against Roberts and Alito. So did Obama's rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, but McCain focused on Obama.
"Senator Obama in particular likes to talk up his background as a lecturer on law, and also as someone who can work across the aisle to get things done," McCain said. "But ... he went right along with the partisan crowd, and was among the 22 senators to vote against this highly qualified nominee."
"Apparently, nobody quite fits the bill except for an elite group of activist judges, lawyers, and law professors who think they know wisdom when they see it — and they see it only in each other," McCain said.
Obama's campaign responded that McCain would pick judges who represent a threat to abortion rights and to McCain's own campaign finance reform bill.
"Barack Obama has always believed that our courts should stand up for social and economic justice, and what's truly elitist is to appoint judges who will protect the powerful and leave ordinary Americans to fend for themselves," Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said.
The Arizona senator said his role models interpret the law strictly, paying attention to what lawmakers intended, as opposed to "activist" judges who, by striking down statutes or court decisions, make laws rather than interpret them. "Activist" is a term conservatives use pejoratively to criticize liberal justices.
Yet in the private property case McCain mentioned, the Supreme Court decided to defer to local officials rather than impose their own will from afar. Justice John Paul Stevens, in his majority opinion, wrote of the high court's "longstanding policy of deference to legislative judgments in this field."
McCain appeared confused about where he was for a moment Tuesday, saying, "I appreciate the hospitality of the students and faculty of West Virginia," then correcting himself to say Wake Forest as the audience laughed.
By speaking about judges, McCain offered an olive branch to the Christian right, which has been deeply suspicious of McCain.
He has clashed with its leaders and worked against them on issues like campaign finance reform. He also joined the "Gang of 14," a group of senators — seven Republicans and seven Democrats — who avoided a showdown over judges by agreeing to preserve the minority party's right to block President Bush's nominees with the filibuster.
Despite his rocky relations with the right, McCain's record on their top priorities — cultural issues like abortion — is very conservative.
While he did say once in 1999 that Roe v. Wade should not be overturned, that amounted to a blip in an otherwise unbroken record of opposing abortion rights for women. McCain has repeatedly voted against federal funding for abortion and has opposed federal Medicaid funds for abortion even in cases of rape or incest.
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The secrets of tennis legend 
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See all 379 CommentsPosted by libagenda at 10:35 AM : May 07, 2008"
We don''t need any more of the Christian conservative agenda, it''s already done enough damage.
That pretty much sums it up for the GOP this November. It is Obama time.
Confusion as to one''s whereabouts, whether West Virginia or Wake Forest, isn''t nearly as scary as confusion as to which Iraq/Iran group is friendly and which is the foe or whether a court ruling favors or opposes your position. I think the dementia has begun and sometime in his first term we will see disastrous consequences of our failure to get him early treatment.
It''s obvious that DEM party has decided to choose a Black nominee instead.
if McCain is SMART, he would pick a Woman V.P., such as the Moderate Republican governor from Swing State Wisconsin.... That will surely tip the Electoral college into his favor in NOV.
Has a little Christian brain
posted by fibonacci
I''m sure you''re just giving the right-wing nuts a taste of their own medicine, this stooping to and engaging in mindless and taunting attacks against Christians. It feels good but, on the other hand, it''s a little like you''re putting on the same stripes. I know they like to wallow in the mud but I wouldn''t join them.
John McCain%u2019s senior campaign staff and President Bush%u2019s senior White House staff are so close that the McCain folks let the Bush folks know in advance whenever McCain is about to distance himself from the unpopular president, says a top McCain aide. Case in point, says Charlie Black, was McCain%u2019s criticism last week of Bush%u2019s handling of Hurricane Katrina. %u201CDisgraceful%u201D is how McCain classified it during a New Orleans campaign stop. %u201CWe have an excellent relationship with the White House,%u201D Black told reporters at a Friday lunch. %u201CThe senior staffs talk literally every day, sometimes more than once a day.%u201D%u201CSo they realize that from time to time we will disagree with the president on issues. And the important thing is to coordinate and, whenever possible, give them a heads-up about what we are going to say so that they can be prepared for it. They knew that we were going to New Orleans and going to the Ninth Ward and knew what to expect, so I don%u2019t think they were surprised,%u201D Black said.
As an example:
A teacher was let go in Florida for making a tooth pick disarpear & reappear in front of his students. He was accused of wizardry. Do you believe this, wizardry! Have we really become so backwards that we now fire teachers for proforming a magic trick? Just how crazy can the religious right get? Even more scary, how did we allow them to gain so much control over our lives?
A magic trick for crying out loud! I doubt God would find a simple magic trick against the rules of having innocent fun. Bush/McCain McCain/Bush......one and the same.
McCain, the eventual GOP nominee, promised to appoint judges in the mold of Roberts and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, saything they would interpret the law strictly to curb the scope of their rulings..
Even in McCain''s Senility, he can recognize the perfectly stacked system of corruption.
Has a little Christian brain
Vote for him you''ll get the same
The same the same the same the same
Posted by ainttaken at 12:25 AM : May 07, 2008
dude- absolutely right, the guy looks like a steely eyed cyborg...no real emotion... the manchurian supreme court justice?
Not like Clarence Thomas or Scalia?
Roberts always seemed a little brown nosing to me....and a little too happy.
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