Editorial: Campaigns must return to issues that matter

| The New Mexican

5/8/2008 - 5/8/08

Just when the Democratic contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seemed it would never end, North Carolina and Indiana stepped in.

This long primary fight may not be over — yet, but it's clear that she lacks a credible path to the nomination.

And just as the Democratic contest started easing into its final days, Republican John McCain stepped in with a speech about judicial activism and the Supreme Court. Almost as a gift, McCain on Tuesday reminded Democrats what is at stake this fall, and what, despite the vitriol of their primary, should unite the Obama/Clinton factions.

His pitch to the conservative base, those voters who didn't want him as their nominee in the first place, was simple. A vote for John McCain is a vote for judges who won't legislate from the bench.

Conservatives call them "strict constructionists," the idea being that these judges can somehow morph their minds into those of the Founders, and then interpret the Constitution as written.

In reality, conservative judges are just as apt to interfere — it's just that their backers don't mind when conservative activism is at work, whether upholding a bad voter ID law or seating a U.S. president.

With his speech, McCain made his case for appointing conservative judges, a position that supporters of both Obama and Clinton must remember come November. The judge debate underscores as much as anything that the 2008 election is about much more than whether a favorite candidate prevailed in the primary.

Rather, the election must be about what a president can do once in office — whether taking a country to war on false intelligence, appointing Supreme Court justices who don't mind interfering in the electoral process or continuing to offer tax cuts to rich people on the backs of the poor and middle class.

Tuesday night, Barack Obama emerged with a knockout win in North Carolina, the state Hillary Clinton had claimed would be a "game-changer." He fought back in Indiana to within 2 points of the victor, just missing a sweep. Even conservative blogger Matt Drudge conceded he's "The Nominee." Still, Clinton could decide to stay in despite her massive campaign debt and the calls for her to quit — even strong supporter and former Sen. George McGovern came out Wednesday and said it was time for her to go.

How she chooses to act should she remain in will mean much to the success of the Democratic Party in the fall. She can continue attacking and dividing, or she can use the remaining weeks on the campaign trail to lay out real differences between Democrats and Republicans.

It's time to focus on issues such as the courts — the next president will appoint hundreds of federal judges, not to mention filling any Supreme Court vacancies. It's time to focus on what to do in Iraq, with conversations about our troops that go much more in-depth beyond "get them out" or "leave them in." It's time, past time, really to talk about this country's serious fiscal situation and put forward the necessary fixes to bring our budget back into line.

And then there's the housing crunch, the price of gasoline, the need for a coherent energy policy, the failure of No Child Left Behind, and on and on and on.

This election, we are reminded by McCain, matters. With the primary just about done, let's turn our attention to the issues — and demand real answers of our candidates.