Friday, December 17, 2010

This is why Obama's failure to speedily nominate judges is so damning

I'm hoping for the moment when a federal judge picked by a Democratic president strikes down the health-care law. Or when a Republican-appointed judge upholds it.

Either way. Because the current lineup of decisions, in which two Democratic-nominated judges have ruled in favor of the law, one Republican against, is not healthy for the judiciary or the democratic process.

It is facile to think of judges as umpires robotically calling balls and strikes. But it is also dangerous to think of judges as players on a particular team, still wearing uniforms under their robes.

Ruth Marcus is right that partisanship in the judiciary probably isn't great for democracy. But right now, that's the way the game is played. President Obama has been taking his time making nominations to the federal judiciary; the results are plain to see, and will continue to be.

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