WASHINGTON -- The recently announced illness of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist confirms the prospect of turnover soon at the court. Rehnquist turned 80 last month and seems to have a serious, debilitating cancer. He continues to be absent from the court.
I was surprised that the issue of the makeup of the Supreme Court did not gain more traction for Sen. John Kerry during the recent election. After all, President George W. Bush is likely to name at least four justices to lifetime tenures. That would be a legacy of great influence.
No president since Franklin Roosevelt has had such an opportunity to fill the court with his own select justices, and it took Roosevelt four terms to do so. How Bush makes his choices will determine the judicial climate of the United States for years to come.