[shanover]

I’m wondering that Kennedy didn’t choose the timing in hopes of giving the Democrats something to run on.

I wonder why under Obama, that Kennedy and Ginsberg did not retire to solidify their liberal seats with a Obama pick. Nobody had any idea who would win the next election.

[Rurudyne]

They were all sure Hillary would win. That’s for sure.

But when Scalia was murdered ... er, died mysteriously with no autopsy etc they may possibly have become concerned with appearances.

[jiggyboy]

I wonder why under Obama, that Kennedy and Ginsberg did not retire to solidify their liberal seats with a Obama pick. Nobody had any idea who would win the next election.

Kennedy was at least nominally Conservative part of the time. Re RBG, and possibly breyerBreyer, I have to believe that they were in fact certain, as everybody on that side of the aisle was, that HRC would win. That assumption means that you stay on that bench until they carry you out in a pine box, so that HRC is picking as young a replacement as possible in, for example, late in her second term in 2023, rather than picking as young a replacement as possible in 2015.

[Go Gordon]

I wonder why under Obama, that Kennedy and Ginsberg did not retire to solidify their liberal seats with a Obama pick. Nobody had any idea who would win the next election

They all thought that Hillary was a shoe-in. They couldn't wait to allow her to take center stage and nominate 2-3-4 justices that would ensure their judge-shopping in lower courts was backstopped.