It's almost comical to watch the faux pearl clutching and hand-wringing over the "empathy" criterion for the selection of an associate justice of the SCOTUS. A judge should possess the very human quality of empathy. "Empathy" does not mean "bias."
I wonder if the right-wing went apoplectic when the first President Bush described Clarence Thomas as having "great empathy" in his remarks nominating Mr. Thomas to the Court. Somehow, I doubt it.
I will have to defer to a 'right-winger' for an answer to that portion of your question, Chuck Howard. As to Obama's reference to "empathy", I meant what I wrote. I do not think that empathy should play any roll in determining the constitutionality of an issue, and
I am in even more disagreement with him when he says it should be on an equal if not greater footing than the use of reason.CORRECTION: After finding a transcript of what President Obama actually said when announcing Sotomayor's nomination, and comparing it to the article I read in the Wall Street Journal, I have concluded that the portion I struck through in the paragraph above was not said by Obama, but rather was a characterization inserted by the writer of the article. In other words, it appears to have been meant to deceive the reader. This means that my argument in this regard has been compromised. My apologies. Dems and other modern 'libs' should not get too worked up over the appointment because the eventual appointee will be politically a tinge to the left, but still stridently supportive of his or her boss, the Eastablishment. It's a done deal.;-)
Yours,
Issodhos
