Letters to the Editor

Supreme consideration when voting for president

Sep 17, 2009 3:08 PM

To the Editor:

One of the most important reasons to vote for a president is who he/she will select to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. No one would dispute after the elections of 2000, 2004 and 2008 that a president’s choice of a U.S. Supreme Court nominee is important.

George W. Bush, a conservative, appointed Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito. They will be on the court for many, many years, and Bush’s imprint will be there for decades to come. U.S. Court of Appeals Justice Sonia Sotomayor was nominated by Barack Obama and has been chosen to replace Justice David Souter, who retired at the end of June. Sotomayor is a bit more liberal than both Roberts and Alito. The latter two justices vote with the conservative bloc.

Obama will probably have more appointments to the court since some members are on in years. Presidents serve for either four or eight years, but their Supreme Court appointments do — like the Energizer Bunny — last and last beyond the term of the person who appointed them.

It is important to think about Supreme Court appointments when voting for the man or woman who wants to live in the White House.

Louis A. Carrubba, retired