Judge Birch A Hero?

Not surprisingly, CBS disagrees with my view of Judge Stanley F. Birch, Jr., who "dispassionately" dispensed justice on the innocent Terri Schiavo, and blasted Bush and Congress for medling in the courts' business. From Andrew Cohen at CBS News Courts Watch:

Forget Michael Schiavo and Bob Schindler. Forget the earnest protestors and the solemn hospice workers. Forget the dopey politicians and the greasy media consultants. Forget the angry preachers and the smug doctors. In the end, in my opinion, the only true unvarnished hero in the recent "legal" phase of the Terri Schiavo saga is 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stanley F. Birch, Jr. He is truly a profile in courage.

Cohen throws a lot of "those of us who believe" phrases into the piece -- believers in non-partisanship, staying "above cheap politics," non-ideological decision-making. Not once did Cohen state that he believes a philandering husband who stands to reap money and fame from his wife's death should not speak for her. Not once did he say that he believes that dry procedure sometimes needs to be set aside and cases re-opened, especially given that the Schindlers were originally poorly represented, while Schiavo had the Death Lobby on his side.

Not once did Cohen say that he believed that if this was an execution of the usual sort, he'd be making exactly the same arguments the Schindlers made, and Judge Birch ignored.