WITH THE SUPREME COURT PICK of John Roberts, George W. Bush rose to the occasion.

The occasion was an opportunity to reshape the Supreme Court. Bush seized the opportunity, in two ways: He moved the Court a solid step to the right (to speak vulgarly), and he elevated its quality. It’s true that Roberts is a Rehnquist, not a Scalia or a Thomas. He’ll be a little more incremental, a little more cautious, than some of us rabid constitutionalists will sometimes like. But he is a conservative pick, and a quality pick–and, to my surprise, a non-PC, non-quota pick.