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Kavanaugh has most important quality in Supreme Court picks: character

Ruben Navarrette Jr. on

SAN DIEGO -- Judging Supreme Court nominees is tricky. Whether the assessment is taking place formally by lawmakers in the Senate Judiciary Committee, or informally by everyday Americans at water coolers across the country, there are many unknowns.

Nominees are usually careful not to give any hints during their confirmation hearings about how they might decide issues that could come before the high court. They would likely never make a promise about how they might rule on a case; but, even if they did, they could always break that promise once on the court. Any views they have expressed in the past could be changed -- at the hearing or in years to come. And if confirmed and seated on the Supreme Court, they could change from liberal to conservative or vice versa quicker than you can say "lifetime appointment."

Whenever there is a Supreme Court vacancy, Americans waste a lot of emotion speculating about whether a nominee would be a good fit. Then Washington-based special-interest groups tap into that emotion to raise money from the true believers. A cause becomes a racket.

But, in reality, we don't know what's going to happen if a person is confirmed. It's a gamble either way.

So, when assessing Supreme Court nominees, I have my own test. And it is based on just one thing: character. That's what I look for, and -- in this process, as in life -- it's the only thing that matters.

Judging from his remarks at the White House last week when his nomination was announced, federal appeals court Judge Brett Kavanaugh has buckets of character. He radiates it.

 

Where did the 53-year-old get all this character?

Maybe it was from his religion and his Catholic upbringing; the former altar boy was schooled by Jesuits and now volunteers serving meals to the homeless through Catholic Charities.

Maybe it was from the hard work and dedication that Kavanaugh obviously poured into a top-flight education at Georgetown Preparatory School, Yale University and Yale Law School.

Maybe it was from teaching young law students at Harvard, Yale and Georgetown. He is generally regarded, according to news reports, as one of the more popular members of the faculty, someone who is accessible and helpful to students.

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