Dad of those darn kids

Hey, did you notice the Roberts kids last night during the SCOTUS announcement? Loved it. First, we get the ubiquitous glance over at the loving wify. And then the mention of the kids--with no kids available for photo/video opportunity. And wify looks a bit, um, strained.

The answer, of course, was given this morning in the papers. Cute photos (visit the photo gallery to see them) of Bush and Roberts--and Roberts' son dancing in front of the oh so unhappy looking wife and primly proper little daughter. Guess someone got that little hellion off camera PDQ.

I would enjoy drawing some corollary from this public behavior. Look, the guy can't even control his own 4 year old. How can we trust him with American Jurisprudence? But I don't have the heart. His wife look so cranky and constipated about little Jack's behavior that I'd hate to heap coals on her head (or his) for being unable to contain him. She might be a Dobson follower. She might be whipping him with a switch, per Dobson's advice for "willful" children.

Frankly, Mr. Roberts probably has very little to do with the raising of his children. Lawyers who practice regularly before the Supreme Court, Judges of the Appeals Courts, these folks don't have a lot of spare time for real life. They spend their days and evenings and weekends in the uplifting, stimulating realm of intellectual rhetoric.

I guess.

Perhaps I'm jealous. I could have spent my children's childhood in this uplifting, stimulating realm. Maybe my life would have been better, richer, fuller, for the constant challenge of formulating answers to meaningful arguments.

Oh. I have spent my children's childhood in this uplifting, stimulating realm constantly formulating answers to meaningful arguments. Only, I'm answer my children's arguments, rather than some legal peer.

Too bad no one's paying me for those answers. :-) Then I could afford a mini-van, thus distancing myself from said stimulating realm.

But I digress.

I'm not happy about the Roberts nomination. But I wouldn't be happy about anyone Bush nominated. There really aren't too many lesser evils. Just evil lessers. I'm sure Bush has thoroughly vetted any nominee with his non-existent litmus test so that anyone he puts forward will make every effort to dump Roe v. Wade, thus satiating his salivating extremist right-wing supporters.

The Democrats will most likely give in, barring some unforeseen Anita Hill-like revelations. Something to pray for, I guess. And I take some small solace from this analysis, which makes Roberts seem not quite such an evil lesser.

The real evil lesser will come when Rehnquist resigns. Bush will truly try to leave his mark on the Court then, nominating someone far more to the right. I hope we Democrats are ready.

Until tomorrow,
Liz