High Court Judges Obama Right, McCain Wrong On Liberties

When the U.S. Senate voted last September on whether to restore habeas corpus protections for those detained by the United States, the senators who would emerge as the presumptive Democratic and Republican nominees for president parted company.

Illinois Democrat Barack Obama joined Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold in embracing the basic constitutional principle that individuals who are detained by the U.S. government have a right to challenge their detention -- no matter where they are held.

Arizona Republican John McCain rejected the wisdom of the Founders of the American experiment and voted against restoring habeas corpus protections for foreign suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and others who are detained by U.S. authorities.

Last week the Supreme Court said Obama was right and McCain was wrong.

A majority that included Republican and Democratic appointees to the high court issued a 5-4 decision holding -- in the words of Justice Anthony Kennedy -- that "the laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."

This was the third time the nation's highest court has rejected the claim of the Bush administration -- and allies such as McCain -- that the military has the authority to hold people it labels "enemy combatants."

Earlier this year, more than 125 constitutional experts signed a "Habeas Lawyers for Obama" letter, which noted that in Senate battles over habeas corpus, "Senator Obama personally lobbied colleagues who worried about the political ramifications of voting to preserve habeas corpus for the men held at Guantanamo. He has understood that our strength as a nation stems from our commitment to our core values, and that we are strong enough to protect both our security and those values."

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http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/292270

Such a hard choice!