Posted on 07/06/2005 2:02:02 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
COPENHAGEN -- President Bush will pick a nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court "in a few weeks," likely pushing his decision well into Congress' August recess when the political heat will be less intense. Mr. Bush spent a quarter of his eight-hour flight to Denmark going over information about a half-dozen candidates to take the seat of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired last week. White House spokesman Scott McClellan would not say who the president has on his shortlist, but he is consulting with high-level staffers and has reached out to members of the Senate, which will have to approve his nominee. "He's going to home in on a handful of potential nominees over the next few weeks," Mr. McClellan said. "He's committed to moving forward in a timely manner." Mr. McClellan said Mr. Bush was reviewing background information on the judicial decisions of his potential nominees, as well as information on their personal lives -- something the White House must know well to prepare for a Supreme Court fight that is likely to get personal if history is any guide. The administration wants to avoid the protracted and ugly fights that President Reagan experienced with conservative jurist Robert Bork, who was rejected by the Senate, and the struggle Mr. Bush's father endured to get Clarence Thomas on the high court. "The president will appoint someone that we can all be proud of, and he urges the Senate to work together and elevate the discourse and move forward on a dignified process," Mr. McClellan said
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
The scary part is that half of the Republican Senate will approve him in the interest of compromise.
F. Lee Levin ............. name him!
Yeah, it's too bad the GOP lost the Senate- otherwise we would actually get to put a conservative on the court instead of the milquetoast we'll undoubtedly get.
The administration may want to avoid conflict, but if they nominate anyone worth a whit they will have one hell of a fight on their hands. No finess required here, a pure test of wills, and for Bush's place in history maybe his biggest test.
After 4 years, my thinking is the President knows exactly who he wants to nominate. Now is the stategery of the anouncement timing. Honestly it may be best to announce in late August.
After 4 years, my thinking is the President knows exactly who he wants to nominate. Now is the stategery of the anouncement timing. Honestly it may be best to announce in late August.
Apologies for the double post.
Didn't he say though, that he wanted to get his nominee through before the start of the fall term? Seems like that's a pretty vain wish if he doesn't start till August.
OTOH, if he can't start using funds for official vetting until now, it will certainly take a few weeks to get through that process. Don't want another Bernie Kerik situation.
Too slow. When the SCOTUS is full of 75-80 yr. olds, a retirement or death should come as no surprise to the President. He should have developed a very short list of possible nominees by now. Waiting weeks just gives the Left time to trash all his possible picks and lets them run their dirty little videos on CNN. This will pressure him into making a Souter-like choice of someone with no record...exactly the mistake #41 made. I thought W was smarter than that.
Levin would be a good second choice. Let Ann Coulter go in and put Kennedy and company in their places first. I would love to see her reaction to being lectured to, and disparaged by the windbags!
ROFL ........ hearings worth watching! I think she would zing 'Chappaquiddick Fats' so badly, that he would have a heart attack right there in the hearing room.
I can hear Annie now, "Senator Kennedy, how much do you think you could get for that '67 Olds Delta 88 on E-Bay these days?"
LOL.
Two weeks will be fine IMHO.
No. Going slow and nominating in late August just before the Senate convenes in September gives liberals no time to focus attacks on the one nominee. In the meantime other names can be leaked to draw attack and have the nominee be none of those.
>
Yeah, it's too bad the GOP lost the Senate- otherwise we would actually get to put a conservative on the court instead of the milquetoast we'll undoubtedly get.
>
The nominee will be more conservative than Reagan's O'Connor and will therefore be an improvement, but the nominee will not be extreme and therefore will be confirmable.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.