The Week
The Ayes Have It
When a liberal provocateur like New York Sen. Charles Schumer declares U.S. chief justice nominee John G. Roberts's performance a "tour de force," it leaves little doubt that the Democrats are in a pickle. How do they vote against a guy who testified that he believes the Constitution protects the right to privacy, the basis for the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion? Who said the Voting Rights Act should not be weakened, and who graciously ducked all darts Democrats threw his way while never losing his picture-perfect, genial smile?
Democrats on the GOP-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee tried to get Roberts to say something-- anything -- that might reveal personal or preconceived conservative leanings. But he refused to bite, remaining ever vague while still coming off as smart and reasonable during four days of hearings. Even Democratic lawmakers had to grit their teeth and praise his composure and grasp of the law. (Sen. Dianne Feinstein called him a "legal automaton.") Liberal activists, however, had a harsher assessment, worried that Roberts might try to weaken their prized civil- and abortion-rights successes.
The committee this week will send his nomination to the full Senate for approval. Democrats said they wouldn't try to block his confirmation, so the only question was the size of the win. With a second Supreme Court vacancy still to fill, many Senate Democrats wonder if they can politically afford to vote for a Bush administration nominee who has pledged judicial modesty but in whose right-tilted past writings they find cause for concern. Either way, Roberts, 50, now a D.C. Circuit Court judge, is expected to be in the chief justice's chair by the October 3 start of the high court's fall term. "I'm not," Roberts insisted after the televised grilling, "an ideologue." -Liz Halloran
Airlines Fly Into Bankruptcy Court
With fuel costs skyrocketing and business nose-diving, two more major U.S. airlines hit the skids last week, declaring bankruptcy to stay aloft. Northwest and Delta airlines joined United and US Airways in filing for financial relief after months of struggling in the face of stiff competition from discount carriers. Finances are so tight that the airlines had stooped to getting rid of pint-size pillows, not to mention meals, on some flights to make ends meet.
The best-case scenario for consumers? If the carriers lower fares in a grab for business. A few more bags of honey-roasted peanuts might be nice, too.
The Feds Pledge to Fight for the Pledge
Once again, all three branches of government are rumbling over whether it's constitutional for students in public schools to pledge allegiance to "one nation under God" in a nation that also sets out a separation between church and state. No sooner had a California federal judge ruled last week that it is not constitutional than the Bush administration and lawmakers rushed to prove it is. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales--on the short list to fill the next Supreme Court seat--vowed to fight to overturn the decision. The Senate passed a nonbinding resolution declaring the "under God" reference "a fully constitutional expression of patriotism." This is the second time that atheist Michael Newdow, a lawyer, has challenged the language; last year the Supreme Court avoided the hot potato on technical grounds, ruling he couldn't sue on behalf of his school-age daughter because he didn't have custody. This time he's representing three other parents.
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