Balls and Strikes is a good name for this column. When Roberts trotted out the analogy during his confirmation hearing, he reminded me of a frequently told story of three umpires. The umpires, a rookie umpire, an experienced umpire, and a veteran umpire were interviewed about their philosophies behind calling balls and strikes. The rookie umpire responded, “l call them as I see them.” The experienced umpire said, “l call them as they are.”
The moss-backed, veteran umpire responded, “They ain’t nothing ‘til I call them.”
I don’t recall anyone pushing Roberts on his analogy and his false modesty about just calling balls and strikes. It’s now clear, though, that he shares the views of the veteran umpire. Congressional action, executive decisions, statutory language, words of the Constitution ain’t nothing ‘til he calls ‘em.
Balls and Strikes is a good name for this column. When Roberts trotted out the analogy during his confirmation hearing, he reminded me of a frequently told story of three umpires. The umpires, a rookie umpire, an experienced umpire, and a veteran umpire were interviewed about their philosophies behind calling balls and strikes. The rookie umpire responded, “l call them as I see them.” The experienced umpire said, “l call them as they are.”
The moss-backed, veteran umpire responded, “They ain’t nothing ‘til I call them.”
I don’t recall anyone pushing Roberts on his analogy and his false modesty about just calling balls and strikes. It’s now clear, though, that he shares the views of the veteran umpire. Congressional action, executive decisions, statutory language, words of the Constitution ain’t nothing ‘til he calls ‘em.