The President is presumably elected by the people to
carry out a program and altering the ideological directions of
the Supreme Court would seem to be a perfectly legitimate part
of a Presidential platform. To that end, the Constitution gives to
him the power to nominate. As mentioned earlier, if the power
to nominate had been given to the Senate, as was considered
during the debates at the Constitutional Convention, then it
would be proper for the Senate to consider political philosophy.
The proper role of the Senate is to advise and consent to the
particular nomination, and thus, as the Constitution puts it, "to
appoint." This taken within the context of modern times should
mean an examination only into the qualifications of the President's
nominee.