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• Monday, May 12, 2008 05:56 PM

  Warning! - More beating the SCOTUS topic to death - skip if you don't care

  I'm not sure what your link proves. Yes, we know the economy and Iraq are the top two issues in the current election - not one person here has argued otherwise. Your polls don't list potential SCOTUS nominations as a separate issue, nor do they break down voting statistics by party affiliation or lack thereof.

  The fact that the polls don't list SCOTUS as a separate issue should tell you something (much like the famous dog that didn't bark in the night). Still don't believe me? Go to Obama's website and look in the Issues section; SCOTUS doesn't even merit its own separate entry under 'Other Issues'.

  Why would these polls need to break down the results by party affiliation, or lack thereof? Given the consistency of the results among all the polls listed there, there's no reason to believe they're a statistically inaccurate sample.

  The past 10 elections took place in different times, with different administrations in office, and different issues at the forefront; thus they are of limited value in assessing what voters of any affiliation think important in 2008.

  It's true that except for 2004, the Iraq war hasn't been at the forefront of issues, but the economy and national security (or both) have always been the top issues in Presidential elections.

  It's called logic...why not use it to prove your point? -- baby_boomerang

  Start with an incorrect premise and logic leads you nowhere; hence the phrase Garbage In, Garbage Out.

  My point...was that the SCOTUS argument is one here, among political junkies and wonks. Not about making a broad based appeal to the electorate. And the point with SCOTUS is the long term damage those appointments can make. Witness Bush's two choices.

  The argument keeps coming up because there are some republican' troll in our midst who keep saying that if Obama wins the nomination they will vote for John McCain. People usually try to appeal to their better nature- why would you do that to the country? - which doesn’t work because they have no better nature. Then we try to reason - look John McCain will have the opportunity to appoint Supreme Court justices! - you don't want that for the future, do you? But they’re not thinking about the common good or future importance of the high court. Because they are republican trolls! -- CeliaInSF

  Thanks for your thoughtful response. I guess all I'm trying to say is that outside of the confines of these chatrooms, SCOTUS isn't as important an issue as some purport it to be, and that if Obama tries to make it issue (rather than using it to re-inforce the base), he should be prepared to explain what difference it makes given a Democratic majority in the Senate.

  —Green Job Read Green Job's other letters
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