None of you know jack shit about law.
Despite all the wailing and moaning from the right, we have judge made law in this country. Its called common law. Judges, in that vein, decide what the right rules should be to have the best effect on society at whole. Empathy is a necessary ingredient for this.
Any of you heard of Brown v. Board of Ed? That was judicial activism. Want to claim that somehow segregation is ok and the court shouldn't have struck it down?
Ever heard of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld? Thats the court case that ruled that Congress gave the President authority to hold prisoners via the AUMF. Where exactly in the AUMF does it mention holding prisoners? It doesn't. Judicial Activism. So why aren't you who are clamoring for "dispassionate" judges also clamoring for the closing of GITMO.
Activist judges has become an asinine buzzword for the right to mean "decisions we don't agree with".
Brown was good decision, but flew in the face of the previously very bad decisions. Even in the case of Brown, though, this was a measured progression away from the evils of the Slavery Laws that were somewhat drawn back by Dred Scott and other dreadfully bad decisions before it and after. What could the Constitutional justification be for a 3/5 man?
Empathy, as invoked by Obama, would not have allowed the decisions that made Brown a neccessity. The Constitution including the Bill of Rights as written, but not as intended by the Framers, also would not have allowed the Slavery Laws. The courts acted in violation of both of these in favor of expediency and preserving order.
The long tradition of Judicial behavior from Soloman forward dictates wisdom in exacting justice. We do need judges that can think and recognize justice in contrast to law. However, the scales of justice must be allowed to find their own balance. A robot reading a rule book is as bad as an agenda driven zealot pushing rigged outcomes.
A good judge can be a Constructionist and can be Liberal. Judges from either camp can and do respect those from the other camp. Scalia and Vader Ginsburg are very good friends and respect each other personnaly and professionally. Neither one is intrisically evil or intrinsically good due to their approach to justice. Both are pretty good justices and we will be losing a good one when either retires.