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"little wonder with such insular backgrounds that justices of the Supreme Court should be tempted to lay down the terms of existence for 300 million Americans. "

It's Supreme Court nomination time again, which means that it will soon be nomination hearing time, which means that Elena Kagan will soon be asked how she believes the Constitution should be interpreted. But just in time comes a new book - "The Living Constitution," by David A. Strauss - that tells us not to bother about that question because, odd though it might seem, the Constitution does not play a central role in constitutional interpretation.

"What the Court needs right now is someone who will fight for the rights of people who aren't part of the upper crust. What we need to hear is that Elena Kagan knows how to stand firm and doesn't think that compromise is the only way out of disagreement or that making the other side happy no matter how closed minded and belligerent they are is somehow admirable. We've had enough of that lately."