McCain's Supreme Court Judgment Calls

By Juliet Eilperin ABOARD THE McCAIN CAMPAIGN PLANE -- While Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) agree on many different policy issues, they apply a different test to voting on judicial nominations, they told reporters Tuesday. While flying to Colombia, McCain said that he believes senators should approve any qualified Supreme Court nominee who comes before the chamber for approval, regardless of his or her ideology. Explaining why he had backed Justices Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, even though he repeatedly criticizes their decisions, McCain said, "I voted to confirm the judges Ginsburg and Breyer because I thought they were qualified, and so did the majority of the United States Senate." Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), McCain said, was different because he judged nominees by their philosophical outlook. "Senator Obama wanted to filibuster against Justice [Samuel] Alito and voted against, spoke against Justice [John] Roberts. That