Obama and the Courts

Barack Obama has said that when it comes to appointing judges to courts, he will be looking for someone with "the heart, the empathy, to recognize what it's like to be a young teenage mom. The empathy to understand what it's like to be poor, or African-American, or gay, or disabled, or old." What? Is this really the stuff that makes for a good judge? I mean, sure, it sounds nice; but should this be part of the equation when it comes to selecting a person who's sole responsibility is to decide whether something is lawful or constitutional. By and large the law is dispassionate. If I do something unlawful and go before a judge that knows me, that judge will most likely bow out because they cannot be dispassionate in this case. Making judgements should be based on the facts of the case weighed against existing law. Empathy is not part of that, at least not for a judge. What if Obama said he would be looking for judges that understood the negative impact abortion had on our society and had empathy for drug dealers and domestic terrorists, and for wealthy businessmen? Wouldn't the public say "you got to be kidding"? No, what you look for is someone who understands the law, someone who does not invent law, and someone who has a track record of making decisions, not based on their own feelings and empathy toward certain people, but rather on the law . . period. The qualities that Obama wishes to find in judges are noble, but this just shows another aspect of Obama where he just doesn't get it. It also shows that maybe Obama really doesn't respect the law or the Constitution.