Quotes of the day

Our objection now is that reconciliation has never before been used to ram through such a momentous policy change as turning 17% of the economy over to government hands. Mr. Conrad admits in his letter that the only "intended purpose" of reconciliation is to "reduce deficits" and that "it is ill-suited for considering major policy reforms." Which again raises the question of why he voted for it.--WSJ Editorial Board

In his Boumediene dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts indicted the majority's "set of shapeless procedures to be defined by federal courts at some future date," and was he ever right. How will judges prevent the public disclosure of classified material? What about Miranda rights, or evidence obtained under battlefield conditions? ... Mr. Obama could have avoided this mess had he kept his Gitmo options open, but to adapt a famous phrase, the President broke Guantanamo so now he owns the inmates.--WSJ Editorial Board