Schiavo politics, judicial politics.

I notice we're not talking about Social Security anymore. It was too tedious to talk about -- too tedious to think about. But everyone can think and talk, talk, talk about Terri. This is a problem with a face -- and in that face we can see all the things that we become emotional about.

But when Terri has died, will the political effect linger on?

We are also on a death watch for our Supreme Court justices, who have held their seats for so long. Politicos and ideologues long for the opportunity to replace them, and some would like to see the Schiavo vigil as a warm-up for the next Supreme Court appointment ordeal.

Here's the slant from Jeffrey Bell & Frank Cannon at The Weekly Standard:

For President Bush and the social conservatives who comprise the central rampart of his base, the courts' naked assertion of judicial supremacy in deciding the fate of Terri Schiavo represents an important moment. This is because the premise of the Democratic filibuster of the president's conservative judicial nominees is that the Roe v. Wade decision must never again be called into question.

The judicial confirmation debate will now unavoidably be about whether democratic decision-making on abortion should continue to be prohibited by our courts and (effectively) by the American legal profession. From the beginning, those who believed Roe would corrupt the rule of law feared that state sanction of private killing would put all public order and all private restraint in doubt. The fate of Terri Schiavo makes clear that those fears were utterly on target.

Did you enjoy that slab of red meat? I thought it had an off taste.

UPDATE: If you didn't enjoy this slab of red meat, try this cut from the other side.