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Jewish World Review Oct. 28, 2005 / 25 Tishrei, 5766 Ted Olson gets my vote By Dan Abrams
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
In the wake of Harriet Miers pulling her nomination for the Supreme Court, you would think everyone from senators to pundits would have someone in mind he or she thinks should fill the spot. Someone with the credentials, someone who can satisfy the conservative base while not completely infuriating the left. But apart from Senator Lindsey Graham (who has openly supported Judge Karen Williams), it seems most are skittish about naming a name.
Well, not me. I'll throw a name out there — one I think should be acceptable to everyone, an attorney with unassailable credentials and someone I know and like. Ted Olson. He's the former solicitor general for President Bush, a well-respected appellate attorney, assistant attorney general to President Reagan, but probably best known for winning Bush v. Gore before the Supreme Court in 2000. Olson is a solid mainstream conservative with a long paper trail, he's argued dozens of times before the Supreme Court and he is well respected in the legal community. Some on the far right may say that at 65, he is too old. Come on — considering that many justices serve well into their 80s and 90s, that should be a non-issue. We have heard that about another very well-qualified nominee as well: Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, former chief judge of the Fourth Circuit (I like him for the spot as well). If Olson were to be confirmed, six of the current justices would still be older than him.
Another possible issue — that, like Harriet Miers — he was the president's lawyer. True, but there's no executive privilege issue here. Olson worked for Bush when he was a candidate, not the president. And as for the work he did for the administration as Solicitor General, the Senate will have more than three years worth of very public Supreme Court briefs to pore over, all clearly endorsed with Olson's name.
As for his judicial philosophy, sure, some liberal groups may whine. Olson has argued against affirmative action, he's represented the right-wing American Spectator magazine, etc. Well, that's too bad. It's the president's pick to make and the Senate has a republican majority. Furthermore, Olson has shown more than anything else, that he's reasonable and rational, not an ideologue. In an April Wall Street Journal column, he asked fellow Republicans to take a well-advised step back and stop launching personal attacks on Supreme Court justices, reminding them that the United States' independent judiciary is the "envy of the world." In a speech to the American Bar Association this past summer, he warned the nation's lawyers that once the Supreme Court decides a case, it should be "off the table for the political process."
I'm hoping the political process doesn't keep this lawyers' lawyer, this well-qualified nominee off the nation's highest bench.
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JWR contributor Dan Abrams anchors “The Abrams Report,” Monday through Friday from 6-7 p.m. ET on MSNBC TV. He also covers legal stories for “NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw,” “Today” and “Dateline NBC.” To visit his website, click here. Comment by clicking here.
© 2005, MSNBC |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
