George Will and Mark Pulliam have been debating whether the Constitution should be read in light of the Declaration of Independence. Allow me to suggest a compromise: Will is right that it should be; Pulliam is right that the Declaration does not furnish judges with independent grounds to strike down legislation. The Constitution should be read in light of the Declaration, but it’s not primarily judges for whom it’s important to read it that way.

Ramesh Ponnuru is a senior editor for National Review , a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a senior fellow at the National Review Institute. @rameshponnuru