Ever since Marbury v. Madison (1803), which established the courts as the arbiter of what the written law says, a core principle of U.S. government has been the independence of its judiciary.
There is not time enough in a single blog to list all the actual limits on that theoretical independence. In fact, there’s not that much time in the universe. Most administrations have tried to bend the courts to their will; countless members of Congress and other officeholders, federal and state, have attacked courts and judges; many if not most judgeships have been awarded on bases other than, or at least along with, judicial merit.
But never before in American history have we had a judgeship so blatantly under the wing of a thoroughly politicized White House that a judicial candidate marched out to podium with a president as though he – the nominee for a judgeship – were the president’s spouse.
Details matter, politics matter, and visual details matter, especially in this White House. Generally, the announcement of a president’s nomination for the Supreme Court has been made quietly, in a manner so dignified as almost to seem ex cathedra. With some exceptions (such as Nixon with Rehnquist), presidents historically have not put themselves forward much in the event, have not appeared prominently and markedly in the announcement, much less accompanying the judicial nominee. It may be generally understood that political factors are involved, but those are played down physically at least, in deference to the American system of justice and its core tradition of judicial independence. The scene is set minimally, to convey a proper distance from the man seated on the bench and the political process that put him there.
Not with these guys, though. Granted, Bush’s typical on-camera short walk to the presidential podium is probably ridiculous to start with. Television cameras could just as well be set up to show a president already in situ, and probably with more dignity. That tiny, tiny little one-man procession from an extremely nearby entrance to the podium, evidently so beloved by Bush and his crew, adds little or nothing to make an occasion more imposing. It does not augment the gravitas, though they seem convinced to the contrary.
But this latest paired stroll, slight a gesture though it might seem, has to be the ultimate twist of what has become an almost dementedly tin ear. Roberts might as well have come out arm-in-arm with GWBush, like two ladies in a Jane Austen novel taking a turn around the room.