More doubletalk from the Roanoke Times

In this editorial, the Roanoke paper applauds the Supreme Court's turnabout on teen murderers, then goes on to say: "Bush needs to base his choice not on political ideology but on a prospective justice's intellectual ability and respect for court precedent."

If respect for court precedent was the measure, the majority in the death penalty case would not have made the grade. It is the absence of justification for deviation from precedent that makes the ruling objectionable.