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  Can a Federalist Society Guy Be for Obama?

  This seems to be on the mind of many of my friends since my endorsement of the senator.

  Frankly, given the nonpartisan, always-open-to-debate approach of the society, I saw no necessary incongruity, but then, sometimes I have been known to miss entire cities looking at a map.

  So here's the thing: Taking Sen. Obama's expressed desire to transcend petty party division to be entirely genuine (please accept that as a given and don't wrestle with the premise) and believing the values of separated powers and federalist structure to be essential toward achieving good outcomes in matters of foreign policy, economy, and the environment (same stipulation), why is it not possible to see these timeless principles as being of service to either Democrat or Republican? The question has special relevance for folks like me who in the past operated on the largely mistaken supposition that there would be overlap between Federalist Society values and a Republican political administration.

  Not wanting to be snookered again, I await your counsel.

  Published Saturday, April 12, 2008 9:30 AM by Doug Kmiec

  Filed under: Douglas W. Kmiec, Obama, Federalist Society

About Doug Kmiec

• Douglas W. Kmiec is Caruso Family Chair and Professor of Constitutional Law, Pepperdine University. He served as head of the Office of Legal Counsel (U.S. Assistant Attorney General) for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Former Dean of the law school at The Catholic University of America, Professor Kmiec was a member of the law faculty for nearly two decades at the University of Notre Dame.