USA Today has offered noted bigot Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council an opportunity to demonstrate that, with a dose of finesse, you can sound good arguing anything at all, no matter how estranged from reality. Perkins is saluting John McCain's recent speech at Wake Forest on the role of the judiciary and judicial nominees and cautioning readers about the dangers of "overreaching judges." Ready to laugh? Here goes:

Through the centuries, overreaching judges have attempted to seize power on questions that span the social and political spectrum. Activist U.S. Supreme Courts gave a green light to slavery in 1857 and to child labor in 1905, overturning duly enacted laws.

Not a word about Brown v. Board of Education or Loving v. Virginia. Where was public opinion on those critical civil rights issues, I wonder?

Mr. Perkins goes on:

In our time, the Supreme Court has given the nation abortion on demand, thereby creating a national issue and actually delaying — because it doubted — the ability of the American people to reason together to solutions.

First of all -- "creating a national issue"? Was a country full of women who could not access safe and legal abortion not a national issue?

And second, I wonder what plucky, enterpreneurial American solutions to the challenge of unintended pregnancy Tony Perkins thinks never reached the light of day. As it happens, the pro-choice movement has researched and tested dozens of policies and interventions that reduce unintended pregnancy, and all those methods are on standing offer to the movement that calls itself anti-abortion.