A Superb Pick by the President : Enthusiastic support for Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg

In nominating Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the U.S. Supreme Court, President Clinton has made an extremely good choice. Perhaps the strongest testament to her qualifications is that, aside from Democratic delight with her performance in Senate Judiciary Committee hearings last week, even conservative Republicans have been moved to concede an easy confirmation. The Senate panel plans to vote on her nomination Thursday and send it to the Senate floor for final approval in early August.

Ginsburg indeed has impressive credentials. Her background includes 13 years as an appellate judge, eight years as a nationally prominent litigator for women’s rights and 18 years as a law professor. In answering the questions of the Judiciary Committee she displayed an impressive grasp of the law and an ability to articulate and defend the sort of precise distinctions that the high court frequently must make.

Some on the left have criticized her as an “incrementalist” and some on the right have been displeased by what they call her liberal views. But complaints like these are far outweighed by the fact that in the hearings as well as in her long and distinguished career she has demonstrated a sense of compassion and devotion to ideals such as equal protection for women and for homosexuals. Neither inherently liberal nor conservative, such ideals are essential underpinnings to our society.

As the first Democratic nominee in 26 years, Ginsburg will join a court that in recent times has been characterized by a rightward tilt, particularly in the areas of criminal justice and civil rights. The five justices appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush now constitute a majority on the court, albeit a majority of shifting alliances and often acrimonious opinions. Ginsburg alone may not be able to move the court’s centrists on most issues, but she might restore some much-needed ideological balance.

As her hearings concluded last Friday, Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said, “I can unabashedly and without reservation support the nomination of Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the Supreme Court.” So can we.