TV Quote of the Day (‘All in the Family,’ on the Supreme Court and Presidential Politics)

Archie Bunker [played by Carroll O’Connor]: “What the Supreme Court says ain't got nothing to do with the law. They okayed busing too 'til President Nixon give 'em the old one-two.” —All in the Family, Season 3, Episode 1, “Archie and the Editorial,” original air date Sept. 16, 1972, teleplay by George Arthur Bloom and Don Nicholl, directed by Norman Campbell

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Just substitute an issue currently on the Supreme Court’s docket and the name “Trump” for “Nixon” and this line fits as well today as it did in 1972.

Or, as the great Irish-American satirist Finley Peter Dunne wrote in his “Mr. Dooley” column back in the early 20^th century: “No matter whether th' constitution follows th' flag or not, th' Supreme Court follows th' iliction returns.”