Although he never mentioned it, Moore is in high gear to run for Alabama governor. Certainly he has all of the qualifications of the South's great demagogues — Theo Bilbo, Ross Barnett, George Wallace.

No dispute on one point: Moore is a great orator. He remembers and recites long passages from court rulings and (very selectively) the Founding Fathers, much like, well, the devil quoting scripture. And, he knew how to play the crowd:

"God is still sovereign no matter what federal judges say. . .There's no such right to commit sodomy in the Constitution. . .No judicial review!" Moore thundered. Unless judges "acknowledge God," they "should be impeached."

All of this was two evenings before Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist appeared on a telecast with ultra-right religionists who declared a jihad against judges. It's the "in" thing for reich-wingers nowadays.

Did the congregation comprehend that Moore's vision would shred most of America's social fabric? We'd be back to segregation and witch hunting.

Sigh. This is the South and they probably did get Judge Roy's drift — and loved it.

Moore would impose one religion — indeed, one particular flavor of one religion — on the nation. He claimed the Ten Commandments were the foundation of our law — they are, but so are Hammurabi's Code (300 years before Moses) and the Justinian Code of Rome.

In short, Moore doesn't want to recognize the real history of jurisprudence. He wants to substitute his narrow view of religion for the nation's laws.

That is what defines a "judicial activist." Heck, it sells books and is good fodder for a gubernatorial campaign that would take Alabama back to the 1940s.

CL Group Senior Editor John Sugg can be reached at at john.sugg@creativeloafing.com.