Buchanan: But what kind of conservative?

Pat takes a look at Bush's first Supreme Court nominee. Is merely "better than Souter" the best we can expect? (TAKE SOUTER'S HOUSE! TAKE SOUTER'S HOUSE!)

Will George Bush be seen historically as the George Patton – or the George McClellan of the culture wars? That question endures.

For with his nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, the president consciously chose to avoid battle with the Left. As he did not want a fight, Bush named a conservative without a single scar from the culture wars and no record of having served. He chose an establishment-conservative, not a warrior-conservative.

Judge Roberts is a man of high intelligence and integrity, and an accomplished advocate who has argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court. Educated in all-boys Catholic prep schools, he attended Harvard and was the managing editor for the Harvard Law Review. He clerked for William Rehnquist and did a tour of duty in the Reagan White House. His resume has Supreme Court candidate written all over it. He even looks like a Supreme Court justice, right out of central casting – and he ought to and almost surely will be confirmed.

But is he the kind of conservative who will roll back court decisions that represent nothing more than the imposed will of previous justices? Faced with questions such as whether Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, will Roberts confirm "settled law"? Or has he the convictions of an Antonin Scalia, a William Rehnquist or a Clarence Thomas, to re-examine and reverse settled law that violates the Constitution? Will he look to precedent or back beyond precedent to the original intent of the Founding Fathers?

We do not know. For neither Roberts' resume nor his brilliant career provides conclusive evidence. For there is simply no record of his having ever, in 30 years in the law, rolled up his sleeves and plunged into any social or ideological brawl over issues like affirmative action or religious rights. (Thanks to WorldNet Daily.)

This is just what happens when politics infect everything. This is primarily, but not exclusively, a leftist disease. (TAKE SOUTER'S HOUSE! TAKE SOUTER'S HOUSE!)