In the practice of law and there is a rule of law that questions regarding a contract must be construed by what is said within the 4 corners of the Agreement itself. Contract law is based on this principle. What the document says, controls. If it is not there, the Agreement must then be revised or the question ignored.
Somehow that ordinary and simple concept seems to have escaped the minds of those who construe the meaning of the Constitution. The Constitution is nothing but a contract, an Agreement between the original 13 colonies to work together to “form a more perfect Union.”
Last night I expressed some gratitude for what Senator Orrin Hatch did in requesting that Supreme Court nominee, Sandra Day O’Conner learn a little more about the U.S. Constitution. I hope you enjoyed that episode of history.
There were some mean spirited and even scandalous elections in our nations early years. Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had a furious campaign against each other. Their early friendship was almost completely ended. They didn’t speak to each other for a dozen years.
I heard there was a Presidential candidate debate tonight. I didn’t watch it. I was meeting with my siblings and my 96 year old mother about her needs. She is doing quite well for her age. She has slipped a little over the past year. A few months ago she fell and broke her hip. But it has healed nicely without surgery. Even though her memory isn’t what it used to be, she can still carry on a conversation. That’s enough about Mom, now how about politics?
In one of my classes as a guest instructor at a local High School, I asked a question, as I always do. I asked who was the first President of the United States of America. One young man braved his answer and responded: “Wasn’t it Abraham Lincoln?”