Friday, August 19, 2005

A good piece on John Roberts

Goody Two Shoes
John Roberts is too nice to be crazy.
By Dahlia Lithwick

In with the humor some good points are made, one paragraph that I felt especially noteworthy:

And that's why John Roberts doesn't alarm me much. The same conservatism that leads him to decry judicial overreaching in the privacy and civil rights contexts is part and parcel of a larger conservatism that distrusts reckless grandiosity. The same quality, in short, that kept Roberts from sneaking off into the woods to smoke may be the same quality that keeps him from torching Roe v. Wade. The Clarence Thomases of this world—men unafraid of tearing down centuries of constitutional scaffolding in order to impose their own theories of constitutional construction—are far scarier to me. Those are the guys who probably did barf off the clock towers in college; guys with the hubris and drive to change the world without going through the confirmation process first. Scalia doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, and Thomas is happiest when he's provoking outrage. Roberts cares a lot about looking temperate, and that isn't a bad thing in a judge.

3 comments:

Scott G said...

Who knows about this guy. He is either a crazy equality hater or an actual conservative who lets the law be the guide. He may snap after getting confirmed anyway and start wearing paisley robes to the Court. I won't mind an actual conservative, but I don't want a activist conservative

Jonathan said...

Roberts cares a lot about looking temperate, and that isn't a bad thing in a judge.

Being temperate is not a bad thing. Caring about looking temperate is a horrible thing. Judges should interpret the law and not give a damn if anyone likes or dislikes them.

Unknown said...

I think he is an actual conservative who has lived his life for this dream of becoming a Supreme Court Judge.

I think his caring about the template is important and will make him not go from emotion but from the constitution.

To me? Not a bad thing to want in a judge.