Olson Endorses Rudy
Ted Olson, former Solicitor General for the Bush Administration, has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for president. The two men aren't strangers...
Olson seems to be making a point (or maybe I'm just inferring one) by talking about the judges issue and the other "controversial" issues. In the end, it doesn't matter what Giuliani personally thinks about abortion, gay marriage, or whatever if those are the kinds of judges and Justices that he appoints. Whether that will actually come to fruition is another thing. No one really knows who he would name to the bench until he's in a position to do it.
Olson's word carries a lot of weight with many people (including me). So when he speaks, people will listen. It does say a lot that he would endorse Giuliani this early in the game. He must be convinced.
Olson and Giuliani have been longtime friends since serving in the Reagan Justice Department from 1981-1983, when Olson was assistant attorney general in charge of the office of legal counsel and Giuliani was associate attorney general. Olson said they met with Attorney General William French Smith every morning and worked closely on a number of issues.Olson is also vouching for Giuliani on an important issue: judges...
The support of Olson should help Giuliani in his quest to win over social conservatives who remain skeptical of his pledge to appoint strict constructionist judges.Olson also addresses the social issues where Giuliani and many conservatives have a disconnect...
"I've known him for 26 years and we've talked about this many times," Olson said. "He feels very strongly that people like Justice Scalia, Chief Justice Roberts, Sam Alito, Clarence Thomas, are the type of people that he would put on the court... I'm quite convinced that this is a genuine viewpoint that he has."
"Rudy's views on many, many issues are going to be very compatible with people in the conservative political community and the political legal community. Nobody's going to be able to find a candidate with whom they agree with 100 percent on every issue. Overall, Rudy's strength of character, his capacity for leadership in a time when a strong executive is important, his energy level, his ability to provide the kind of leadership that Ronald Reagan did -- I think that is going to be very persuasive with conservatives."Emphasis added. I've always held that belief. You are never going to agree with anyone on all of the issues. If you find yourself in lockstep, you might want to reexamine your positions and see if that's truly what you think.
Olson seems to be making a point (or maybe I'm just inferring one) by talking about the judges issue and the other "controversial" issues. In the end, it doesn't matter what Giuliani personally thinks about abortion, gay marriage, or whatever if those are the kinds of judges and Justices that he appoints. Whether that will actually come to fruition is another thing. No one really knows who he would name to the bench until he's in a position to do it.
Olson's word carries a lot of weight with many people (including me). So when he speaks, people will listen. It does say a lot that he would endorse Giuliani this early in the game. He must be convinced.
