A little reminder
The Big Issue That Democrats Didn't Talk About: Ann Woolner
July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Night after night, I tuned into the Democratic National Convention and waited to hear about one of my favorite issues.
Bill Clinton said nothing about it, and neither did Barack Obama. I thought surely Ted Kennedy or John Edwards would mention it, but no. Finally, last night, it was John Kerry's turn. He passed, too.
"It's the judicial nominations, stupid,'' I wanted to tell them all.
Even so, I know it's not. The federal judiciary isn't exactly a burning issue for most voters, even less so for the undecided voters Kerry is trying to reach.
This year's campaign advisers no doubt said the keys to victory are fighting terrorism and improving the economy. The federal bench barely rates a mention.
Of course this nation's reaction to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks trumps all else, and it should. Crisis though it is, the partisan war over federal judgeships will not be a make-or-break issue.
"I've never had any reason to think it mattered at all, other than in terms of revving up their own troops,'' says Adam Clymer, political director for the National Annenberg Election Survey at the University of Pennsylvania. He's a former Washington correspondent for the New York Times.
And yet, it is due serious attention. The makeup of the federal judiciary reverberates through almost every area of American life, its judges given jobs until they die, the precedent their rulings set lasting beyond that.
