Judge Bork’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing

Bork is trying to convince us that he has two brains. One brain, the one that enjoys academic freedom, condemns opinions that promote freedom of speech. His other brain, the one that respects precedent, would deny his earlier opinions against any constitutional guarantee of privacy. Where his old brain lacked the integrity of his two superiors who resigned rather than comply with Nixon’s order to fire Cox, his new brain argues that he was required to by a moot technicality of the law.

This last-minute creation of a second brain might be related to the election promises of his nominator “balance-the-budget” Reagan. In fiction people can have two brains. In reality they have two faces.

JONATHAN HALL

Northridge