Michael Fumento

If you're in your 40s or older, you probably remember "The Mod Squad," about a trio of cops whose only distinguishing feature was gender and color. They were described as: "One black, one white, one blonde." That's fine for TV, but in considering nominations for the highest court in the land it doesn't cut it. I've looked at numerous lists of potential candidates and while they vary greatly the one thing that stands out is the number of minorities, especially Hispanics. One is a two-fer, a black woman. Don't get me wrong; several of those minority candidates as described by their brief accompanying bios seem to be excellent choices. The point is that this is an extremely important body (far more important than it should be, having continually crept into legislative areas ever since the Warren Court) and it has only 9 members and right now we're deciding on a single slot to be filled by one of approximately 300 million Americans. If it turns out that the best candidate is the proverbial Bohemian midget with a peg leg who is one-quarter Cherokee Indian, fine. But the High Court must be a meritocracy.