A few thoughts in response to Kathryn’s skeptical e-mail correspondent:

1. There are plenty of reasons why McCain might focus on Roberts and Alito rather than Scalia and Thomas—reasons that don’t remotely suggest that McCain dislikes Scalia and Thomas. Off the top of my head: First, McCain has previously been accused of dissing Alito, so he had some repair work to do on that front. Second, Obama and Clinton voted against the Roberts and Alito nominations, so focusing on those nominations draws the starkest contrast between McCain and his Democratic opponents. Third, like it or not, it just may be that Scalia and Thomas have been so stigmatized that the Roberts and Alito pairing has more favorable political resonance.

2. I’m not sure what it means to “put faith in McCain’s promise to appoint good judges.” One sorry lesson of the judicial-nominations process is that we can’t just “put faith” in any president to appoint good judges. Not even Ronald Reagan, who ended up in my scorebook one for three on Supreme Court justices. What conservatives ought to do, as the NRO editorial today puts it, is “help McCain live up to his promises.” That help may include some intelligently applied pressure.

3. The election will be a choice between McCain and either Obama or Clinton. (Some people still seem unwilling to recognize this fact.) It ought to be clear to anyone who favors judicial restraint that, whatever McCain’s shortcomings are, the probability of getting quality Supreme Court picks from him is far higher than from Obama or Clinton.