Both convictions were obtained under state laws. These were undoubtedly hate crimes, and gruesome ones. But the culprits were handled effectively under state law. The president tried to bolster his case by citing the crisis in Kosovo, in which thousands of ethnic Albanians are being killed or forced from their homes. The states can handle these crimes.
Federal intrusion is unnecessary.
Chief Justice William Rehnquist, in his annual report on the federal courts in January, cautioned against the trend of extending federal prosecutions. The same warning could be addressed to the president, who is promoting the extension of hate-crime laws. The very concept of punishment based on the assailant's animosity for a particular group is questionable. A murder committed out of hatred for blacks or homosexuals is neither better nor worse than one committed with some other motive. It's still murder.