6, ALLIGATOR U TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6,2005 Editorial, Empty justice Bush rushes nomination of inadequate candidate The Editorial Board is moving to the Antarctic. We thought about Canada, with its relaxed marijuana laws and young drinking age, but we didn't think the gentle Northern folk were far enough from American soil. But don't despair; we'll continue to discuss national and university politics while we run through the tundra, catching our dinner with our bare hands. We just can't sit by while President Bush recommends a fairly inexperienced candidate for chief justice of the Supreme Court, one of the most powerful positions in America. We're not going to get into the conservative versus liberal debate. No, we're taking the higher road. We want to address John Roberts' court experience and Bush's haste to get him into the high chair of chief justice. When Chief Justice William Rehnquist died this weekend, Bush quickly chose Roberts to replace him without any ap- parent consideration of other candidates. He had mapped out his plans for when Rehnquist died, and his moves are political genius. Originally, Roberts was nominated to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and politicians everywhere began to eat him alive. Is he too conservative? Is he not conservative enough? Was this whole thing part of Bush's evil plan to infiltrate the courts and threaten our rights with a religious AK-47? Of course every candidate deserves immense speculation. The position carries a lifetime appointment and tremendous power to shape our lives. During Rehnquist's tenure alone, the Court gave Bush the 2000 election and ruled that the federal government triumphed over state government.in marijuana laws. This job is huge. But the attention should not only focus on ideological back- ground; it should focus on experience as well. Forget Roberts' partisan ideals for one moment. The real test for a judge is his knowledge and application of the law. Sure, Roberts was an experienced lawyer, but that's a far cry from the most powerful judicial position in the United States. So why is Bush nominating Roberts, who has been a judge for only two years on the D.C. Circuit? Rehnquist had 14 years of experience as an associate justice before he ascended to the throne. We suspect Bush has two things on his mind: Roberts' age and political slant. At 50, Roberts could reign for 30 years. -He has the potential to affect America's laws for a decade longer than Rehnquist. He simply doesn't deserve this step. How can the government hand over such a permanent position to someone who hasn't even been tried out? This isn't about whether Bush is slanting the Supreme Court; it's about executive competence. Bush is pushing Roberts because the judge has already gone through the media frenzy. Now he is suffering another partisan attack but with one difference: We've heard it all before. And the second time just isn't as effective. Bush also wants his choice for chief justice to be swiftly appointed. The longer Congress studies his choices, the more compromise will come into effect. So our president is playing off the timing of Rehnquist's death. In a month the Supreme Court reconvenes. Who would argue that we shouldn't have the head honcho in his seat before the Supreme Court carries out its duties? This Editorial Board will. Rehnquist had been'far from en- tirely active before his death. Although he was known for be- ing diligent in his work, no man can be all there while he goes through the effects of chemotherapy and operations. The Supreme Court can wait for its chief justice. After all, what are a few months to 30 years of regret? S the independent florida alligator Mike Gimignani EDITOR Eva Kis MANAGING EDITOR Emily Yehle OPINIONS EDITOR The Alligator encourages comments from readers. Letters to the editor should not exceed 150 words (about one letter-sized page). They must be typed, double-spaced and must include the author's name, classification and phone number. Names will be withheld if the writer shows just cause. We reserve the right to edit for length, grammar, style and libel. Send letters to letters@alligator.org, bring them to 1105 W. University Ave., or send them to P.O. Box 14257, Gainesville, FL 32604-2257.Columns of about 450 words about original topics and editorial cartoons are also welcome. Questions? Call 376-4458. Opinions ALLIGATOR www.alligator.org/opinions Guest column Liberals rush at chance to blame Bush Y ou've probably heard about the dead bodies in New Orleans' streets. The water supply-is contaminated, refugees have gone days without food or water, and armed gangs still roam some streets and.shoot at relief work- ers. Aid has trickled in, but reconstruction.seems uncertain, and the death toll is still rising as gunfights and suicide persist. Some seem to think America is raping what it sowed. After Sept. 11, 2001, most critics of American foreign policy had the good sense to wait at least a month before they started saying "they had it coming." But some Greens and anti-Bush fanatics have decided they can't hold their tongues that long. It's apparently never too early to politicize a tragedy. On' the homefront Cindy Sheehan has written that Bush was "heading to Louisiana to see the devastation that his environmental policies and his killing policies have caused." Germany's Environmental Minister Jiirgen Trittin claimed the hurricane was a result of Bush not signing the Kyoto Treaty. The American president is closing his eyes to the econom- ic and human costs his land and the world economy are suf- fering under natural catastrophes like Katrina and because of neglected environmental policies, Trittin said. Joan Ehlers of World Wildlife Fund Germany said global warming has increased the intensity of hurricanes and that Americans "have a big impact on the greenhouse effect." In fact German magazines and newspapers have taken some of the most disturbing positions on the tragedy. A writer for the Berlin-based daily Tagesspiegel suggested that America wasn't critical enough of Bush's climate policies and that such catastrophes would be avoided if we worked together with nature. On a sidenote Islamic extremists are delighted about the disaster. They've given Katrina a military rank and are cross- ing their fingers that oil will hit $100 a barrel. There are far too many examples of pundits politicizing Matthew the suffering, and you can expect Ielone there to be more in the coming weeks. So where is the sense of decency? I Speaking Out think America should cutback spend- ing on NASA, but I didn't exactly talk about that after the Columbia disaster. And I'm only singling out the Left because they are the only ones I've heard so far twisting the situation to promote an agenda. But all this talk about Republican policies causing hur- ricanes is even more offensive because it's embarrassingly false. After the tsunami disaster in 2004, some environmen- talists jumped on the opportunity to talk about global warm- ing and Bush's failure to sign the Kyoto Treaty. As this didn't apply to the tsunami, the greens finally quieted down. One of the nation's foremost hurricane experts, William Gray, has said that if global warming was to blame and truly a global phenomenon, cyclones would be increasing across the world and not just in the Atlantic. But what is logic against bad science? Now the White House is being blamed for not funding the levees. But critics fail to mention that the levees were only equipped to handle a Category 3 storm even at maxi- mum proposed funding, whereas Katrina was a Category 4. Furthermore, construction on a plan to upgrade the levees to uphold a surge from a Category 4 or 5 storm was expected to take decades. So maybe the problem is not that Americans are reaping what they sowed, but that some of our friends, abroad and in our own backyard, want to use this crisis to take cheap. shots at the administration or lecture us on controversial environmental theories. Or if you're Kanye West, hurricane devastation is also a good time to discuss how Republicans and the National Guard work together to shoot and other- wise oppress blacks. But then again, with friends like that, who needs en-i emies? Matthew Melone is a journalism and political science major. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the Alligator. Reader response Today's question: Should John Roberts be appoint- ed Chief Justice? Friday's question: Should UF hire a director for Asian American affairs? 71% YES 29% NO 70 TOTAL VOTES Vote or post a message at www.alligator.org I' I I I Ir I I