John McCain says he would appoint similar Supreme Court justices as George W. Bush.
Speaking at Wake Forest University today, the putative Republican presidential nominee accused Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama of favoring "activist judges," Bloomberg reports.
McCain praised Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, appointed by Bush, as "jurists of the highest caliber."
His views on the Supreme Court are being carefully watched because McCain was one of a bipartisan group, called the Gang of 14, that steered a middle course on Bush's appointments. The next president may also have an opportunity to make several appointments, with four justices over the age of 70.
In the speech, McCain noted that Obama opposed Roberts' appointment in 2005, saying that the toughest Supreme Court cases "can only be determined on the basis of one's deepest values, one's core concerns, one's broader perspectives on how the world works and the depth and breadth of one's empathy."
McCain said the comments "attempt to justify judicial activism."
Speaking of both Obama and Clinton, he added, "apparently nobody quite fits the bill except for an elite group of activist judges, lawyers and law professors who think they know wisdom when they see it."
