Ethics

Empathy and Constitutional Law

By Ed Brayton

Aaron Weiner, a colleague with the Center for Independent Media's Washington Independent, has an article about conservatives seizing on Obama's self-described search for a justice with "empathy" as their attack point on anyone he might nominate for the Court. He writes:

After Justice David Souter announced his retirement on May 1, Obama laid out a broad spectrum of qualities he will seek in his nominee at a press briefing. Among these were "a sharp and independent mind," "a record of excellence and integrity," "respect for constitutional values" and "empathy."

Given this range of terms to work with, conservatives quickly settled on "empathy" as the one around which to draw the battle lines, and the others faded from the debate. Obama did not utter the word "empathy" without forethought; he had used the term two years earlier as a senator in discussing Supreme Court nominations. But since his May 1 statement, he has had little control over which of the many criteria he put forth receive attention and which get shunted aside. Conservatives saw a potential political advantage in attacking "empathy," and liberals have been unable to reframe the debate around other terms that may be more to their benefit.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on May 19, 2009 (boomark / email).