>> i think i miss -- i think i am to the left of veneration nests -- venerationists. i take a somewhat more pragmatic approach than the venerationists do, at if it ain't broke don't fix it. i do not think you have to venerate in order to appreciate the position that it is probably wise to ask what you were going to come up with as a replacement before you start replacing it. i think the tenor of the discussion provides the constants -- context for the conversation. i think we heard emanations of the two levels of criticism of the constitution. one of them, i would take exception with, and you might call me a venerationist in that respect. at the other level, but i think we run into political questions and i would probably be out before i started getting into positions. the first level of criticism is the criticism that i think is summed up in one of the phrases from robert frost. i think i remember the phrase right, waste is in the essence of the scheme. there is an essential part of the constitution, internal conflict. it was intended to be a doctrine of internal con

>> i am somewhat to the left of a generation, although i am not sure there are really venerationists. i'd take a somewhat more pragmatic approach than they do, and it is the approach of if it ain't broke don't fix it. i do not think you have to venerate in order to appreciate the question -- or pri sheet position -- or appreciate the position that is wise to come up with replacement before you start replacing it. i think the tenor of the discussion here at the table are earlier provides the context for this approach, because i think we heard emanations of two levels of criticism of the constitution. one of them i would take exception with, and i suppose you might call me a venerationist in that respect. the at the other level, i think we are in to political questions and i would probably now out before i started getting into substantive positions. the first level of criticism is the criticism that i think is summed up in one of the phrases from robert frost's poem. i think i remember the phrase. he said weast is the essence of the scheme. -- waste is the essence of this country part o

that does not make me a veneration list, but -- a venerationist, but instead a pragmatist. be sure that it is broken and be sure that you can fix a better before you start doing that. james madison would not have answered exactly like that, neither indeed would thomas jefferson, so i'm somewhere in the middle. >> the system design for conflict demands resolution. interpretation of the constitution is one of the leading ways to resolve those difficulties. it is also one of the job you have been deeply engaged in over the last couple of decades. could i ask about a couple of leading schools and see how you react? let's begin with originalism, a school which emphasizes the original meaning of the constitution as it would have been understood by those who framed it or sometimes people attribute it to those who ratified it. what do you think of that as an approach to decision-making? you often begin with reference to what the framers thought. >> i think you have to answer that question with reference to specific questions. maybe the only general answer i could givei is couldsm i