Toobin is very astute and has been fair in the past. He asserts there is no reason to believe McCain will be a 'maverick' in his Court selections, as his support for previous strict constructionist justices indicates, and as he would probably like to satisfy the right-wing of his party here. In discussing Roper, and using the codewords 'penumbras' and 'emanations,' McCain implies, according to Toobin, he will appoint justices who look poorly on Warren Court precedent back to Griswold, not to mention its antecedents in Roe and Casey. Finally, Toobin reminds the reader that the 'living Constitution' wing of the Court (including Stevens, Ginsburg and Souter) are all possibilities to step down in the next presidential term, ... More »

Perhaps sinister is not the right word...since we are only talking about a speech given by an elected public figure afterall. However when that public figure is seeking to be President and is offering his vision of the Supreme Court we should pay close attention. Scary then when after reading this analysis of McCain's speech I am left with...yep, it is the right word...a sinister feeling. The coded phrases McCain uses are picked up by Toobin and shown to be cookie crumbs for insiders to follow to McCain's gingerbread house vision of his conservative court. Toobin's analysis is excellent. Required reading!