Sue Bell Cobb to take charge of an "all-white" Supreme Court

Here's Chief Justice-elect Sue Bell Cobb from back in August: "When you have an all-white court, that is sending a signal that we do not want to send in Alabama."

That kind of silliness - elevating physical characteristics above character and intellect when determining one's fitness to be a judge - is one reason I didn't vote for Sue Bell Cobb.

Race and gender are fixed characteristics: they don't change...they can't be "improved" upon...they are immutable; you possess what the good Lord gave you, now and forever. Thus, whenever race and gender figure into how we treat others, we are placing limitations on ourselves that are unnecessary, unreasonable, and unjust.

In contrast, character and intellect are qualities that transcend immutable characteristics like race and gender. Having a lawyerly mind is not the exclusive reserve of men, women, or of any particular racial group. The cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice are common to men and women of all races. We all have the potential of growing in character by exercising the virtues and of growing in intellect by exercising our minds.

Don't get me wrong. I don't like the fact that we now have an "all-white court." Neither do I dislike it. Quite frankly, I don't give a damn either way. What I do care about is that we have the best judges - and that they be evaluated on how aptly they use their character and intellect to interpret the law.