Links and Minifeatures 2008 05 27 Tuesday

Carnival of Personal Finance

Carnival of Real Estate

Long, but every word is worth reading: Beneath the Hope from Victor Davis Hanson.

Hot Air: Did Democrats argue that Congress can hide legislation from the President?

If they can hide the text of the bill from the President, who can they not hide it from?

And the implications of this behavior stop where? Certainly not within the bounds of the Constitution.

What Kind of Justice Would President Obama Mete Out?

This is worrisome, especially as the Congress has declined to so much as vote on hundreds of President Bush's judicial nominations. Many have been unfilled since 2002, thanks to the virtual filibuster. It would give President Obama the opportunity to stack the courts in such a manner as has been denied Presidents since the founding of the republic. The biggest check upon the appointees of any one philosophy as evidenced by a particular president's preferences, has always been the existence of prior judiciary appointments. If Obama was allowed to fill all of Bush's vacancies (blocked from confirmation for up to six years), plus the ones naturally occurring during his own term, this would allow him more control over the federal judiciary than any president has had since at least FDR's three terms plus, and given the lifetime nature of service being extended as it has been in recent years, more power to remake the courts than any president since Lincoln at least, and probably than any president since Washington in practice, and for a longer time. George Washington included his political opposition in his cabinet, and not just milksop posts like Transportation, which we didn't have then, and he appointed judges from the other side as well. Obama has said he's not going to do that, as well as that he intends to appoint unabashed judicial activists. Given the number of vacancies he will fill, I think it's far more important than normal that someone who at least wants to appoint judges with the mind set of an umpire, like Chief Justice John Roberts. Unfortunately, Obama voted against Justice Roberts' conformation. That's not a good portent for the kinds of judges he would likely appoint.

Gateway Pundit on a real difference between Obama and McCain. Those who are against Iraq keep harping on what it's cost us in international relations. They may have a point, but what it has and will cost us in international relations, even in a worst case scenario, isn't one percent of what leaving the job undone will cost us in the same field.

Given that one of the two men will be President next January 20th, I'd rather it was the man who understands that.

On the other hand, I'm reading loads of gibberish about Obama confusing the meanings of Veterans Day and Memorial Day. They have a point when you think about it, but it's just a non-starter politically and practically. When we get the federal budget fixed, when we get the corruption weeded out of our political system and the all of the other real ongoing structural issues dealt with, then I might have the energy to stress about a candidate who's unclear about the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. This issue is nothing more than a (politically) unimportant distraction that could well backfire.