Byron York: "More McCain and Judges"

Byron York, writing at The Corner on National Review Online, offers a little more background and context for McCain's anti-Alito quote:

... I asked whether McCain said anything about Alito wearing his conservatism on his sleeve. "I've seen that in print, and I do not remember it in those words," the source told me. "I'm certainly not the source for that. The gist of it was that Roberts is the type of justice I'm more comfortable with because Alito is more unambiguously conservative. I certainly wouldn't want to be putting those exact words into the senator's mouth."

I asked whether McCain had ever said that Alito was conservative, or too conservative. "The words were probably more in the sense of he would be too controversial," the source said. At that point, I was not sure, because the source seemed not to be sure, whether McCain had used the word conservative or not. Clearly, my source thought McCain's saying that Alito was "controversial" was code for "conservative."

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My Comments:
I still don't think York's account helps McCain much in this regard (at least not with me). Even in context, the point is clear: McCain isn't willing to risk fighting for a nominee like Alito, who I believe to be one of the best Supreme Court picks in the last 30 years (along with Scalia and Thomas, of course).


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
My Doubts About John McCain ...

Robert Novak: "Is McCain a Conservative?" (Confirms Story on McCain and Alito)

McCain: Alito "Too Conservative"

Some Good Posts at Catholics in the Public Square

The Cranky Conservative: Is McCain or Giuliani More Trustworthy on Judges?