Northeastern Political Science Association Presidential Challenges to Judicial Supremacy and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning Author(s): Keith E. Whittington Reviewed work(s): Source: Polity, Vol. 33, No. 3 (Spring, 2001), pp. 365-395 Published by: Palgrave Macmillan Journals Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3235440 . Accessed: 09/08/2012 15:06 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
[email protected]. Palgrave Macmillan Journals and Northeastern Political Science Association are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Polity. http://www.jstor.org Polity * Volume XXXIII,Number 3 * Spring 2001 Presidential Challenges to Judicial Supremacy and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning* KeithE. Whittington PrincetonUniversity Conflictsbetween the Supreme Court and thepresident are usuallyregarded as grave challengesto the Constitutionand a threatto judicial independence.Such claimsmisrepresent the nature of these presidential challenges, however. In doing so, theypaint an unflatteringand inaccurateportrait of Americanpolitics and underestimatethe strength of American constitutionalism. This article reexamines historicalpresidential challenges to thejudicial authorityto interpretconstitutional meaning.It argues thatrather than being unprincipledattacks on judicial inde- pendence, such challenges are best regarded as historicallyspecific efforts to reconsiderthe meaning and futureof American constitutional traditions in timesof politicalcrisis and constitutionaluncertainty.