Election could change Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) -- The two leading presidential candidates have sharply contrasting views when it comes to the U.S. Supreme Court, an analysis by the Los Angeles Times indicates.

Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama differ not only on the type of justices they would appoint but also on what they see as the court's role, the newspaper reported Monday.

McCain has criticized judges who make law from the bench and promised, if elected, to choose conservatives like Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Obama, who taught constitutional law before being elected to the Senate, says he wants people on the bench "who have enough empathy, enough feeling, for what ordinary people are going through."

Whoever is elected president in November will probably have a chance to appoint at least one justice to the high court. John Paul Stevens turned 88 last month and Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 75.