Roman Hruska - in Defense of Mediocrity

In Defense of Mediocrity

Hruska is best remembered in American political history for a 1970 speech he made to the Senate urging them to confirm the nomination of G. Harrold Carswell to the Supreme Court. Responding to criticism that Carswell had been a mediocre judge, Hruska claimed that:

"Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren't they, and a little chance? We can't have all Brandeises, Frankfurters and Cardozos."

This speech was criticized by many, and Carswell was eventually defeated.

Read more about this topic:  Roman Hruska

Famous quotes containing the words defense and/or mediocrity:

    “From a bed in this hotel Seargent S. Prentiss arose in the middle of the night and made a speech in defense of a bedbug that had bitten him. It was heard by a mock jury and judge, and the bedbug was formally acquitted.”
    —Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    “It was the supreme expression of the mediocrity of the apparatus that Stalin himself rose to his position.”
    —Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)