If John McCain becomes President, will he deliver an Antonin Scalia or a David Souter to the Supreme Court? The Federalist Society crowd is taking comfort in this statement McCain sent them recently:
"When I was running for president in 1999, I promised that, in appointing judges, I would not only insist on persons who were faithful to the Constitution, but persons who had a record that demonstrated that fidelity. A president should have confidence in the judicial philosophy of those he is appointing to the bench. That is why I strongly supported John Roberts and Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court and that is why I would seek men and women like them as my judicial appointees"
Once conservative activist inside the beltway told me the following regarding that McCain statement:
"The proven record aspect of this is pivotal, as that was the key to the Souter disaster. Bush I picked Souter, relying on advice from John Sununu and Warren Rudman that Souter was conservative even though there was absolutely no record of judicial restraint in Souter's career. Sure enough, he joined the Supreme Court's legal wing and has been a thorn in the side of conservatives -- especially social conservatives -- for almost 20 years.
This is why staunch federalists such as Ted Olson and Federalist Society co-founder Steve Calabresi have weighed in to support McCain. This is why liberals such as Dahlia Lithwick at Salon are having a kniption over McCain's statement. As McCain continues to affirm and reaffirm this statement conservative support for him will continue to grow and become energized on his behalf. If he wavers, waffles or backtracks the backlash from legal conservatives will be swift, loud and would likely mortally wound his campaign".
Read more on this here and read the entire McCain statement here