So far in this interrupted ten part series I've looked at Bush's support for Israel and his record on international development. Today his greatest domestic achievement.
US lawyers and courts have enormous powers - and like in our own country and across Europe - many have become 'activist' interpreters of law. Through inventive interpretation of laws and constitutions, activist judges effectively create new rights – unilaterally adopting the functions of elected officials. Robert Bork (a Ronald Reagan nominee for the US Supreme Court who was rejected by Congress because of his constitutionally conservative views) has said that judicial activism involves unelected judges “legislating from the bench on issues that would not pass muster at the ballot box”.
In America rights to abortion and gay marriage have been imposed by judges and have made the appointment of future judges a massive political issue.
George W Bush appointed two Supreme Court justices - John Roberts and (eventually after the Harriet Miers debacle) Samuel Alito. For conservative commentator Fred Barnes, "Roberts and Alito made the Court indisputably more conservative. And the good news is Roberts, 53, and Alito, 58, should be justices for decades to come." David Frum has made the case that Roberts, as Chief Justice, is almost worth two justices. Other conservative judges - notably Thomas and Scalia - are very sound but are not persuaders. Roberts is liked by all who meet him. At long last conservatives have a Supreme Court justice with the personality to bring the Court together and be winsome against judicial activism.
Bush's appointments at lower courts are just as significant. Huge numbers of “strict constitutionalist” justices have been appointed throughout the American legal system in the last eight years.
