I, too, think that Anthony wrote a good piece, and it is a worthy companion to the column by the great Harvey Silverglate that leads off today’s LRC. Now, I would like to think that Ted Kennedy has had a late-life conversion to the doctrine of separation of powers, as opposed to trying to find a “hook” on which to hang Sam Alito.

Unfortunately, the rest of Kennedy’s diatribes undid the very doctrines he supposedly was advocating, from abortion to this bizarre “Concerned Alumni of Princeton” horse that he beat into the ground. (Since Robert Byrd used to be a leader in the Ku Klux Klan, and since he wrote rather unflattering things about blacks, and since he is a Democrat, does that tie Teddy to the Klan?)

Those of us old enough to remember Kennedy’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980 also remember that he ran on a platform of economic dictatorship. His campaign ideologically was poles apart to his apparent agreement this week with the Supreme Court’s decision regarding Harry Truman and the steel mills.

Does that mean he had a change of heart? I seriously doubt it. After all, who can forget Paul Begala’s line, “Stroke of the pen, law of the land. Kinda cool.” This was in reference to Bill Clinton’s use of the executive order. I don’t recall Kennedy responding either to Begala’s comments or to Clinton’s actions.

At the same time, I am glad to see Kennedy bring up this important legal doctrine, one that was destroyed by Kennedy’s idol, Franklin Roosevelt. It reminds me of St. Paul’s words that he was glad to see “Christ preached,” even if some of the preachers were charlatans. And, in my book, Ted Kennedy is a charlatan of first order.