Supreme Court

Will Sandra Day O'Connor be the only Justice to leave the supreme court? Rumors were flying this morning that Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80 and ailing from thyroid cancer, would announce his retirement. Rehnquist was coy with reporters outside his house. When the reporters asked him as he got into his car if he would be resigning, he replied, "For me to know and you to find out," with a grin on his face. When it became late afternoon and no Rehnquist resignation came, speculation turned to the court's oldest member, 85 year old John Paul Stevens. Stevens was appointed 30 years ago by Gerald Ford (a Republican), and is the court's leading liberal. It's my guess the only two ways JPS will leave is (A) a Democrat president is elected in 2008, or (B) he's carried out. It soon surfaced that Stevens had hired clerks through the 2007 session, and those rumors were quelled. The media, not wanting the day to be a total wash, began questioning if 72 year old Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has sat on the court for 12 years, is in excellent health (not quiet as good as the indestructable John Paul Stevens, apparently), and had made no moves as if she were going to resign. At the end of the day, no one resigned, and Republicans continue to salivate at the idea of: (1) Elevating Antonin Scalia to Chief Justice, (2) solidify 2 Republican seats with diehard conservatives, and, (3) replace two leading liberals. It's my hope that Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter, and Breyer will remain until at least 2009, in the hopes that we have a Democrat in the White House.

Note: (photo from left: John Paul Stevens, William Rehnquist, Ruth Bader Ginsburg)

I'll be continuing my "Bill Clinton 2.0" feature either tomorrow or later tonight.
-N