Habeas and Handguns: The Supreme Court and the Election

According to a new Washington Post poll, 61% of Americans disagree with the Supreme Court's recent Boumediene decision, in which the Justices extended habeas corpus rights to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In the short run, the decision seems to have helped McCain, as Obama's embrace of the Court's meddling made him look soft on national security.

Even more than Boumediene, however, the Court's upcoming decision in Heller, the DC guns case, will have a tremendous impact on the 2008 race. If, as I believe is likely, the Supreme Court affirms that the Second Amendment does, in fact, protect the rights of citizens to own weapons, Obama will be forced to take a concrete stand on this delicate issue. Given that Obama has, as an Illinois legislator, supported banning all handguns, this should be fun to watch.

I predict that Obama will waffle again. More syrup, please.