One of the more surprising questions from Rick Warren was, “Which Supreme Court justice would you not have nominated?”
Barack Obama said Clarence Thomas.
“I don’t think that he was as strong enough jurist or legal thinker at the time for that elevation. Setting aside the fact that I profoundly disagree with his interpretation of a lot of the Constitution. I would not nominate Justice Scalia although I don’t think there’s any doubt about his intellectual brilliance because he and I just disagree, you know. … One of the most important jobs of I believe the Supreme Court is to guard against the encroachment of the executive branch on the power of the other branches and I think that he has been a little bit too willing and too eager to give an administration whether it’s mine or George Bush’s more power than I think the constitution originally intended.”
John McCain said Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, Justice Souter, and Justice Stevens.
“This nomination should be based on the criteria of proven record of strictly adhering to the constitution … and not legislating from the bench. Justice Alito and Justice Roberts are two of my most recent favorites. I’m proud of President Bush for nominating them.”
