The more ridiculous moves George W. Bush makes, the farther away 2008 seems. The latest travesty that no one has really called him on — Al Sharpton's busy washing rappers' mouths out with soap — is his nomination of Leslie Southwick for a seat on the Fifth Circuit, a federal appeals court.

Southwick, an unacceptable nominee, according to the New York Times, has a record of ruling in favor of employers in his current position on the Mississippi appeals court. During his Senate confirmation hearing — they vote on Thursday — Sen. Dick Durbin asked him to name one time he had made a controversial decision in favor of a poor person or minority. He couldn't. Slate has more.

To sink a judicial nominee, you need a sound bite, for better or worse. And the liberal advocacy groups, joined by the Congressional Black Caucus and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in opposing Southwick, have a few. When a state social worker called a co-worker a "good ol' nigger" in 1994, she was fired. She appealed the firing to the state Employee Appeals Board, which reinstated her with back pay. The state hearing officer said, "I understand that the term nigger is somewhat derogatory. … I think that in this context, I just don't find it was racial discrimination." Judge Southwick joined a 5-4 decision by the Mississippi Appeals Court to uphold the employee's reinstatement. That ruling was reversed, on technical grounds, by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Southwick has also waxed fondly about employment at will—the rule that allows employees to be fired for any reason—comparing it to democracy as a system that's not perfect "but just a better one than everything else that has ever been suggested." And he joined a 2001 opinion that called for judges to consider "the homosexual lifestyle" in deciding child-custody cases.blockquote>

And yet, he's endorsed by the American Bar Association, and there's a good chance the Senate will confirm him. Why? Because, according to Slate, the Democrats know that if they let this one sail through, Republicans may be feel more inclined to go easy on the nominees of the next Democratic president. Obviously I'm no politician, but I see no strong reason to reward a judge for his racism by helping his career advance.

[Slate]