Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Supreme Court nominee

Watching Dubya ... what's with the lip twitching after each sentence? Sources close to this blog say that similar teeth grinding can be an after-effect of hard drug use. Just sayin'. It could just be popcorn stuck between his teeth.

Judge Roberts is from Buffalo NY; how long before the Tim Russert endorsement? ... [UPDATE] it took 30 seconds after the speech on MSNBC.

While the initial coverage is focused on abortion, the Wall Street Journal correctly identifies another issue:

Just last week, Judge Roberts handed the Bush administration a signal victory when he joined a unanimous three-judge panel to rule that so-called enemy combatants being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have no rights under the Geneva Conventions and can be prosecuted before military commissions that lack the due-process protections afforded by U.S. courts martial.

Not so keen on Magna Carta, then. Now that we think of it, what are the ethics of deciding on a high profile Administration case while being under consideration for a promotion from that Administration? [UPDATE: this Slate article fleshes out the egregious reasoning in the Gitmo case and also wonders whether the judge was influenced by his job prospects]

And in the same WSJ story:

Mr. Bush unveiled his choice in a nationally televised speech at 9 p.m. last night following a frenzied day of speculation that initially revolved around Edith Brown Clement of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

Any chance the media now understand the abuses of background briefings by this administration?

UPDATE 12 OCT: Months later, wondering continues about the jaw twitch. Dan Froomkin elaborates.

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