Credentials Are Fine, but Values Matter, Too

Credentials Are Fine, but Values Matter, Too: "By Colbert I. King

Saturday, November 5, 2005; Page A19

Thus sayeth the high priests of far-right conservatism: To be worthy of appointment to the Supreme Court, a nominee must be scholarly, a great intellect and a possessor of sterling conservative credentials. In addition, the nominee should come equipped with a well-established constitutional philosophy, experience in constitutional law and the ability to divine what the Constitution means through analysis of its words and structure. In addition, they say, the nominee must have a proven ability to write clearly, argue incisively and have well-known opinions on judicial philosophy.

Unspoken, but well understood, is that to be short-listed it certainly doesn't hurt to be white, male and straight. By those standards, what kind of men would have found favor with the high priests?"