The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judge... — Barack Obama

The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.

Author: Barack Obama

Insight: We live in an age of constant pressure—political pressure, social media pressure, the pressure to pick a side and defend it fiercely. It's easy to assume that judges should simply reflect what "we" want right now, especially when we feel our side is right. But Obama is pointing at something harder to see: a democracy actually depends on having some people in the system who aren't trying to win the news cycle or please the loudest voices. Think of it like a referee in a sports league. If the ref made calls based on which team had more fans cheering that day, or which team's supporters were angriest on social media, the game would collapse into chaos. The whole point of a referee is that they're supposed to apply consistent rules regardless of the crowd. Judges operate the same way—they're meant to look at what the law actually says and means, not what would be most popular this week. The uncomfortable part is that this independence sometimes means judges make decisions that disappoint us. That's the feature, not a bug. When we erode that independence—by attacking judges we disagree with, or demanding they rule a certain way—we're slowly dismantling the very protection that keeps any of us safe when the political winds shift and our side isn't in power anymore.

Source: Remarks by the President at the University of Chicago Law School, 2016