Despite serving for eons in the U.S. Senate and running for President, Senator Joe Biden remains a relative unknown to most Americans. Undoubtedly we will all get to know him better in the coming days.
To get things started, here's an assessment from Justice Clarence Thomas, Senator Barack Obama's favorite jurist (not), who wrote in his book My Grandfather's Son about the slimey questioning conducted by Obama's future running mate at Thomas's confirmation hearing:
Senator Biden was the first questioner. Instead of the softball questions he'd promised to ask, he threw a beanball straight at my head, quoting from a speech that I'd given four years earlier at the Pacific Legal Foundation ad challenging me to defend what I'd said: "I find attractive the arguments of scholars such as Stephen Macedo, who defend an activist Supreme Court that would . . . strike down laws restricting property rights." That caught me off guard, and I had no recollection of making so atypical a statement, which shook me up even more. "Now, it would seem to me what you were talking about, Senator Biden went on to say, "is you find attractive the fact that they are activists and they wold like to strike down existing laws that impact on restricting the use of property rights, because you know, that is what they write about."
Since I didn't remember making the statement in the first place, I didn't know how to respond to it. All I could say in reply was that "it has been quite some time since I have read Professor Macedo . . . But I don't believe that in my writings I have indicated that we should have an activist Supreme Court or that we should have any form of activism on the Supreme Court. It was, I knew, a weak answer. Fortunately, though, the young lawyers who had helped prepare me for the hearings had loaded all of my speeches into a computer, and at the first break in the proceedings they looked this one up. The senator, they found, had wrenched my words out of context. I looked at the text of my speech and saw that the passage he'd read out loud had been immediately followed by two other sentences: "But the libertarian argument overlooks the place of the Supreme Court in a scheme of separation of powers. One does not strengthen self-government and the rule of law by having the non-democratic branch of the government make policy." The point I'd been making was the opposite of the one that Senator Biden claimed I had made.
Throughout my life I've often found truth embedded in the lyrics of my favorite records. At Yale, for example, I'd listened often to "Smiling Faces Sometimes," a song by the Undisputed Truth that warns of the dangers of trusting the hypocrites who "pretend to be your friend" while secretly planning to do you wrong. Now I knew I'd met one of the them: Senator Biden's smooth, insincere promises that he would treat me fairly were nothing but talk. . . . .
Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.
Showing posts with label Justice Thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Justice Thomas. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Justice Thomas Meets the Bush Boys
It's not often that our children get to meet an honest-to-God hero, but today they met such a man, Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court of the United States, who spoke to the national convention of the Federalist Society.
In his remarks, Justice Thomas discussed his memoir, My Grandfather's Son, and the many Americans he has met as he travels around the country to sign the book. He then took questions from the audience. Granted, this group of conservative lawyers was a friendly crowd, so the standing ovation and applause came as no surprise. Justice Thomas, however, interspersed numerous one-liners with commentary on everything from the confirmation process to natural rights jurisprudence to his marriage.
"He's really funny," my ten-year old, Eric, observed. "I didn't expect him to make everyone laugh." Christian, my 12-year old, was struck by the Justice's "patience and persistence" in overcoming adversity.
Following the q & a, we asked Justice Thomas to sign our copies of his memoir. After he signed Eric's copy, Eric said, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," Justice Thomas replied, ignoring the several hundred people in line to have their books signed.
"If you could change one part of the Constitution, what part would you change?" Eric asked.
Justice Thomas stopped signing books and reflected on the question. Then he said, "I don't think I'd change any of it. How about you -- what would you change?" he asked.
Eric considered that and said, "I don't think I'd change anything, either."
"Then we agree," Justice Thomas said, "that we have a pretty good Constitution just the way it is, right? And you know, it's shorter than the warranty for your watch."
Then Justice Thomas gave Eric an assignment: "I want you to go and look up the constitution for the European Union and see if it's longer than our Constitution. Then you write and tell me, OK?"
Eric agreed to do so, shook the Justice's hand and said good bye. As he was leaving, Justice Thomas stopped signing the next book and said to Eric, "You won't forget?"
His aide took me aside and said that the Justice was sincere about wanting to hear from Eric.
The whole exchange underscored a point that Justice Thomas had made in his remarks. He loves to talk to people of all ages and backgrounds, but he especially enjoys questions from children. "Some of their questions are so innocent, it just gets you thinking," he said.
As my kids observed, this powerful jurist is funny, patient and persistent. Despite all liberal smears to the contrary, he is exceedingly bright. Liberal reviews of his memoir describe him as a bitter, angry man, but we saw none of that. He demonstrated a cheerfulness and the peace that comes from knowing that even adversity cannot destroy hope.
The characteristic that has always struck me about Justice Thomas is his tremendous humility. Like him or not, he is one of the most important people in the country. And yet he listened to my little boy's question, really listened without any condescension -- nothing but kindness and courtesy.
In his remarks, Justice Thomas discussed his memoir, My Grandfather's Son, and the many Americans he has met as he travels around the country to sign the book. He then took questions from the audience. Granted, this group of conservative lawyers was a friendly crowd, so the standing ovation and applause came as no surprise. Justice Thomas, however, interspersed numerous one-liners with commentary on everything from the confirmation process to natural rights jurisprudence to his marriage.
"He's really funny," my ten-year old, Eric, observed. "I didn't expect him to make everyone laugh." Christian, my 12-year old, was struck by the Justice's "patience and persistence" in overcoming adversity.
Following the q & a, we asked Justice Thomas to sign our copies of his memoir. After he signed Eric's copy, Eric said, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course," Justice Thomas replied, ignoring the several hundred people in line to have their books signed.
"If you could change one part of the Constitution, what part would you change?" Eric asked.
Justice Thomas stopped signing books and reflected on the question. Then he said, "I don't think I'd change any of it. How about you -- what would you change?" he asked.
Eric considered that and said, "I don't think I'd change anything, either."
"Then we agree," Justice Thomas said, "that we have a pretty good Constitution just the way it is, right? And you know, it's shorter than the warranty for your watch."
Then Justice Thomas gave Eric an assignment: "I want you to go and look up the constitution for the European Union and see if it's longer than our Constitution. Then you write and tell me, OK?"
Eric agreed to do so, shook the Justice's hand and said good bye. As he was leaving, Justice Thomas stopped signing the next book and said to Eric, "You won't forget?"
His aide took me aside and said that the Justice was sincere about wanting to hear from Eric.
The whole exchange underscored a point that Justice Thomas had made in his remarks. He loves to talk to people of all ages and backgrounds, but he especially enjoys questions from children. "Some of their questions are so innocent, it just gets you thinking," he said.
As my kids observed, this powerful jurist is funny, patient and persistent. Despite all liberal smears to the contrary, he is exceedingly bright. Liberal reviews of his memoir describe him as a bitter, angry man, but we saw none of that. He demonstrated a cheerfulness and the peace that comes from knowing that even adversity cannot destroy hope.
The characteristic that has always struck me about Justice Thomas is his tremendous humility. Like him or not, he is one of the most important people in the country. And yet he listened to my little boy's question, really listened without any condescension -- nothing but kindness and courtesy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)