David Frum, in the course of thoughtful comments on Rudy Giuliani’s recent troubles, writes:
The single most important question pro-life Republicans need to ask themselves is this: What kind of judges and justices would the various candidates nominate, given the likelihood that they will face a Democratic majority Senate?
Giuliani has made the case for himself in similar terms. But isn’t this a strange argument on behalf of someone running for President—that on domestic social issues, the President is essentially just an appointer of judges?
The President of the United States runs the executive branch, and so is given an enormous amount of authority and discretion in the enforcement of the law, the promulgation of regulations, and the setting of federal priorities. This has a tremendous impact on every area the government touches, including the social issues that those pro-life Republicans Frum mentions care so much about.
