JOHN MCCAIN HAS COME UNDER HEAVY FIRE from conservatives critical of his alleged apostasies. To be sure, several of his stances–on tax cuts, illegal immigration, campaign-finance reform–stand at odds with the current mainstream of American conservatism. But his opponents on the right are profoundly misguided in their criticism of one aspect of McCain’s record: his record in the fight to confirm conservative judges to the federal bench.