It’s odd, isn’t it, that in Supreme Court debates, we always hear an enormous amount about various judges’ “philosophy,” their paper-trail, their alleged politics, and so on. Much of this is helpful enough and sometimes relevant. But surely something else matters as well, and that is the correct temperament to be a judge. It should match the temperament of an umpire – not a pitcher or catcher or any other role. What troubles me about Antonin Scalia is not so much the substance of his views (although I share very few of them) but the angry, sarcastic, bitter tone of his judgments. David Broder had a similar take last week. Part of what it takes to be a judge, in my mind, is a certain indifference to passionate advocacy, a sense of moderation, and prudence. If someone cares as passionately as Scalia does about the moral issues in what he has called the “culture war,” and if he isn’t even interested in moderating these passions in his judicial rulings, then it strikes me that he is not acting as a justice should act: with dignity, care, distance, and respect for alternative arguments. It’s the tone that’s off. It can be amusing, bracing, shocking, interesting; but it certainly isn’t a judicial tone. Ditto the arguments about the far right nominee, Bill Pryor, a man whose political language about abortion is so inflamed he has had to say to the Senate that he will simply lay it all aside if he is called to rule on the matter. No one can believe in this kind of psychological compartmentalization; and no one should trust anyone who promises it. The truth is: anyone whose views are that inflamed shouldn’t be anywhere near a federal bench. A talk-show host or blogger, maybe. A politician surely. But not a judge.
BLAIR VERSUS THE BBC: The BBC is now in a full scale war with the British government. The Beeb, having launched a Rainesian campaign to prevent Saddam’s demise, has subsequently been engaged in a furious attack on the post-war management of Iraq and the alleged WMD “lies” the Blair government told to make the case for war in the first place. Finally, the Blair government is fighting back – and the charges against it are turning out to be as flimsy as those now being made against the Bush administration. A parliamentary investigation looks set to clear the Blair government of deliberately “sexing up” its dossier about Saddam’s WMD capability, leaving the left-leaning Beeb seriously isolated. The Guardian has more dope. But it’s somewhat remarkable to see the BBC this embattled and this politicized – with its executives in a public pissing match with the pols who appoint them. In a similar vein, Israel’s government has now cut off all links with the BBC and will not cooperate with its journalism, as a protest against what Israel has justly called “demonization.” In the last couple of years, the BBC has essentially thrown away the reservoir of trust it once enjoyed with the British public in order to become a left-liberal – and insistently anti-Israel – advocacy group. A Raines-like epiphany may be ahead.
The Dish 