PRESIDENT-ELECT George W. Bush was right about one thing last week: Democrats and Republicans must close the sharp political divide to move the nation forward.
Now he has to make bipartisan teamwork happen.
He can start with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a bench that conservatives have worked tirelessly to keep under Republican control -- and all white.
The 4th Circuit, which serves Maryland and four other states, has become a disturbing monument to political division. The Republican Senate has refused to confirm -- or even schedule confirmation hearings for -- four recent Democratic appointees to that bench.
The 4th Circuit is easily the most conservative federal appellate court (rarely do they see an execution they can't expedite; even more rarely do they see a civil rights case they can't quash). And it is the only federal appeals circuit that has never had a black judge. (Members of the bench are so clueless when it comes to African-American concerns, in fact, that the judges once stood around singing "Dixie" with Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist at a judicial retreat.)
Baltimore's federal District Judge Andre M. Davis is the most recent nominee to the court. Judge Davis is highly qualified for the appellate appointment, and his rulings suggest political moderation more than progressive activism. But his nomination has gone nowhere.
Judge Davis and other Democratic nominees, including Virginia's Roger L. Gregory, have watched partisans dig in their heels against their appointments. When the Senate adjourned last week, those nominations expired.
If Mr. Bush truly wants to unite America, he'll renominate Judge Davis to the 4th Circuit and push for his confirmation. It will take gestures like this to convince hopeful but skeptical members of the public that he can heal the country.
