The Constitution(al) and the Good

Council of Philosopher Kings

"[C]onstitutional interpreters often feel politically and psychologically impelled to argue simultaneously that the results they prefer are in some sense authorized by the Constitution and that they are the best outcomes, all things considered. The political character of constitutional decision making discourages interpreters from distinguishing these quite different contentions, even in their own minds."

--Rogers Smith's "The Inherently Deceptive Nature of Constitutional Discourse: A Diagnosis and Prescription" in Integrity and Conscience: Nomos XL (1998)