JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS

McCAIN talks frequently of the need to appoint more judges who he says will stick to the letter of the Constitution the way Bush appointees, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito do. Given that the justices who are oldest and most likely to step down are liberal, that would bring a major shift to the court's balance of power.

OBAMA has said little about his plans for judicial appointments, but he's likely to propose more liberal appointees in the mold of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.