Opinion:

What is right for the nation?

In a recent post, I stated that President George W. Bush has not been showing leadership but instead has been playing politics at the expense of doing what is right for the nation, but he has an opportunity to do so by turning away from short-term political gain at any cost towards doing what is right for the nation, even if there is a political price to be paid.

The Democratic Party now has a similar opportunity to turn away from short-term political gain at any cost towards doing what is right for the nation.

No one in their right mind should have expected President Bush to nominate anyone less conservative than Judge John Roberts, and the Democrats in the Senate should recognize that unless Judge Roberts has committed some crime in the time since he was confirmed as a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, he should be confirmed for the United States Supreme Court.

Will this change the "balance" of the Supreme Court?

Yes...

But ANY nomination would change that "balance", it is unrealistic to think that President Bush would nominate someone that would not reflect his often-stated views.

This is different than the nomination of John Bolton for United States Ambassador to the United Nations. I did not like the nomination of Bolton because of the contempt he had expressed towards that organization, along with the questionable behaviors he displayed towards matters of national security and accurate versus expedient intelligence in his prior career. Also, someone who mistreats subordinates has issues of character that I do not want in a person filling any diplomatic position, a job which is to advance the cause of my nation, not to ride roughshod over people at will.

It is difficult to perceive the nomination of someone who had made the statements Bolton had made regarding the UN to be perceived as anything other than Bush showing an upraised middle finger to the rest of the world. That is damaging to the interests of the United States and is NOT what is right for our nation.

Since Judge Roberts was found suitable for the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, unless something has changed in the last two years, there should be no issue with him becoming a Supreme Court Associate Justice, regardless of his views on particular cases.

The Democrats in the Senate need to show leadership in this matter and not present obstructionist tactics for some self-perceived short-term political gain. They need to do what is right for the nation, expeditiously move forward on the nomination, ask appropriate questions (not softballs, but not idiotic unanswerable questions), and vote on the nomination based upon the qualifications of the nominee.

If the Democratic Party wants to nominate judges, they need to win back the Presidency by presenting true leaders, not idiots like John Kerry.

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