James Fallows looks back at two statements from the Roberts confirmation- one from Obama on why he would not be supporting Roberts, and one from Roberts himself, and concludes:
I leave it to you to judge which of those statements from 2005 stands up better seven years later as a guide to John Roberts’s temperament and jurisprudence. I will tip my hand in saying: whether or not you admire his role on the court, it is impossible to see how anyone could describe it as umpire-like or “reflecting a certain humility.” In the Citizens United ruling, he and his allies set out to answer questions the case itself did not necessarily raise, so as to overturn precedents they considered incorrect. If you’re using the umpire analogy, it would be as if someone behind home plate suddenly yelled “Foot fault!” about a tennis match he saw out of the corner of his eye, with “Pass Interference!” and “Icing” calls thrown in to boot. The potential overturn of the Obama health care law may be desirable or not, according to your own views — but it is anything but “humble.”
I mention this mainly because of the apposite pairing. We have two men who now sit atop two of the three branches of the government. They both laid down markers seven years ago on how one of those men was likely to perform once in office. One of the predictions seems a lot more prescient than the other.
On top of all the other reasons the right hates Obama, there is also the fact that he is smarter than they are and he knows exactly what they are up to.
That Obama Feller Knew What He Was Talking AboutPost + Comments (79)