Roberts in, Hamm out

To no one's surprise, the U.S. Senate has confirmed John Roberts as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. (The margin was 78-22, with the Democrats about evenly split.) In terms of qualifications and intelligence, I've seen nothing which suggests Roberts was anything less than an exemplary nominee. And from a purely political perspective, it's probably the smartest move Bush has ever made - Roberts' opponents had plenty of time to "Bork" him, but they had nothing but fearmongering and innuendo to go with. (Podcast blogger Charlie Quidnunc, by the way, did an excellent job covering this story.)

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia premier John Hamm has announced his retirement after six years in office. The Atlantic Provinces Trial Lawyers Association, of which I am a member, is shedding no tears for his departure, because of the $2,500.00 cap his government placed on general damages for so-called "minor" injuries. Aside from that, I thought he did a pretty good job. Just balancing Nova Scotia's books was quite an achievement, as was running a relatively clean government in a province notorious for political corruption, even by Atlantic Canadian standards.

While in office, Hamm presided over a scandal-free government that frequently boasted about its prudent fiscal management.

On Wednesday, the province posted a $165-million surplus for the 2004-2005 budget year.
[...]
With his departure, Hamm becomes the first Nova Scotia premier in a generation to leave office without a cloud of controversy hanging over his head or angry voters pressing for change.

Liberal Russell MacLellan, Conservative Donald Cameron and Liberal Gerald Regan were all voted out of office.

Conservative John Buchanan was appointed to the Senate as scandal swamped his government. Liberal John Savage was ousted by his own party.

Posted by damian at September 29, 2005 07:17 PM | TrackBack