Although it is disappointing to say the least for those who believe in the constitution that Obama will get a second Supreme Court appointment especially so early in his presidency, it seems reasonable that a man of Justice Stevens' age, nearly 90 but still vigorous, would decide to step down. Stevens even occasionally voted with the good guys on some cases. Best wishes to Justice Stevens for continued good health. It's worth noting that the justice originally said in media interviews that he would retire in the next couple of years. Did some political operative "get to him" and convince him to retire now, rather than wait until after the next election when Republicans are expected to increase their numbers in the Senate?
The real source of heartburn is the lackluster, now-retired David Souter, the stealth liberal. As we have mentioned, any garden-variety moderate to conservative would have done a far better job on the court than Souter, including transforming those contentious 5-4 decisions into 6-3 rulings. And no hihg court justice of a conservative mind-set would have ever retired early with a Democrat in the White House. It seems there is a history of Republican presidents making grave errors in their Supreme Court nominations.
Obama will no doubt nominate a super-leftist for the court--someone who the media will immediate classify as a moderate. And this cloak of moderation will immediately be debunked by right-of-center bloggers who actually do their homework. It's too optimistic to expect an actual moderate to be nominated; after all, Obama recently recess-appointed the radical extremist Craig Becker to the NLRB. Fortunately, recess appointments only last until the end of the current Congressional session.
It's laughable in the extreme, by the way, that Sen. Leahy would call for civility in up the upcoming confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Were Republican nominees such as Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, or John Roberts (among others) treated civilly by committee Democrats? As the saying goes, "I rest my case." And since then-Sen. Obama voted against Alito and Roberts, is turnabout fair play?
Some good news on the appointee front, however. Dawn Johnson, another radical who the administration sought to install in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, withdrew her nomination.
