Marianne Means: Clarence Thomas' whiny book

By MARIANNE MEANS
Copyright 2007 Hearst Newspapers

In future histories of Supreme Court justices, Clarence Thomas will certainly be ranked near the bottom. He betrays the high court's high standards with nearly every mean-spirited, ideologically driven vote he has cast. But the ultimate, most revealing act of hostility is his new memoir, titled My Grandfather's Son, in which he portrays himself as Mr. Perfect, without a selfish political thought. His racial persecution complex is scary. He's risen to one of the most powerful jobs in the land and he still thinks evil white liberals are out to get him solely because of his color, not because they profoundly disagree with his opinions. He completely reflects White House Republican thinking — never admit a single mistake, no matter what. Yet he's supposed to bring a well-reasoned judicial temperament to tricky legal decisions that impact a lot of American lives, both white and black. His opposition to college affirmative action policies is particularly offensive, considering how he got into Yale law school with the help of a program to give black students a break.