Meese Defended
Richard N. Goodwin’s article (Editorial Pages, Oct. 31), “Beware the Tyranny of the Righteous,” advances the puzzling argument that Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III is wielding power illegitimately when he addresses constitutional issues. “His job is to enforce the laws, not to make them: to obey the mandates of Constitution and Congress, not evade them by selecting those he likes and those he finds disagreeable.”
It is puzzling, to say the least, how one is to be expected to “obey the mandates” of the Constitution, yet refrain from discussing the nature of constitutional interpretation. Meese heads the department that recommends to the President those people it deems qualified to serve as federal judges, a position that requires that they pledge to uphold the Constitution. In these days of “constitutional entropy,” is it not necessary that Meese discuss his understanding of the Constitution?
If Goodwin truly believes that the actions and words of Meese threaten the “petty tyranny” of which he warns, then his fears are more properly directed toward the form of government that our Constitution established.
TERRY EASTLAND
Washington
Eastland is director of the Office of Public Affairs of the Justice Department.
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