http://www.newrepublic.com/book/review/nixon%27s-court-kevin-mcmahon
This article I found was very interesting because the author considered Nixon's new judge appointments as very moderate, with the goal of pleasing the public. It stated that Nixon picked these four new judges because he believed that each of them had a background that would appease to some group of the American public that was looking for support. In the documentaries we have been watching in class about Nixon and his appointments, I was under the impression that Nixon appointed these four new justices solely to get court verdicts that would align with his beliefs. I was not aware that there were any other sides to the story. This article presented Nixon as as someone who was looking to please the common people, which was a side of Nixon you don't really seem to hear about much.
Interesting article! I think although Nixon, in hindsight, is viewed as a dishonest and immoral president, it is important to note that during his presidential term, he was actually extremely admired by much of the American Public and had a high approval rate for his 1st term and the beginning of his 2nd, winning both elections in landslides--1968 and 1972. Even when allegations of the Watergate Scandal first came out, many were hesitant to believe that their president could betray their trust like that.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it would be interesting to look up President Obama's supreme court appointees (during his 2 terms he has appointed 2 supreme court justices). The first justice he appointed was Sonia Sotomayor, and the second was Elena Kagan--both are considered liberal. During his presidential campaign, the President said he would want a judge who represented the minorities and protected those who were outsiders/vulnerable in the political process. He even mentioned that he admired Earl Warren (of the Warren Court--we learned about this in class documentaries) for his rulings on segregation in which he stressed that segregation was immorally wrong in addition to sociological effects. Appointing supreme court justices is very major, influencing decisions far after a president's term is complete, as justices serve for life and can greatly affect or even overturn decisions even when their party is not in power.