There is the possiblilty of another vacancy on the court during Bush's Presidency. Who Bush chooses should be influenced on which judge vacates the Court.
Here are some possiblities:
Antonin Scalia- Scalia has been passed over for the position of Chief Justice and he's 69 y/o. Also, he may want to leave while Bush is in office, since things are not going well for Republicans. If this happens, Bush should nominate Michael Luttig, a Constitutional conservative whose brilliant intellect would strengthen the conservative wing even if doesn't change ideologically.
Anthony Kennedy- Kennedy is getting on in years. And he presumably doesn't want a Democrat to name his replacement. His record is rather gray and mediocre, but he's far from being the worst on the court. Karen Williams would be the ideal choice here, increasing the number of women while increasing its conservativism and intellectual gravitas.
John Paul Stevens- A RINO named by Gerald Ford when the Senate had a 62 to 38 Democrat majority, Stevens was an appointment of expediency turned bad. He turns 85 and, while his health appears to be good, you never know at that age. Given Stevens liberalism, Bush can afford to put confirmability first in filling this vacancy. Chances are, most conservatives could live with an Alberto Gonzales appointment in this particular instance. And we don't know for certain that Gonzales is pro-abort. In any case, he would certainly be an improvement on Stevens.
You are far too concerned with picking the replacement to fit the previous occupant of any given seat.
That's a fools errand, a bad tactical choice, and a stragety that will last only as long as a republican is in the White House.
Appointments should be made with the intent to making the court as conservative as possible. If that means pulling the nuclear trigger NOW rather than waiting and hopeing for a larger senate majority, then by all means pull the trigger.
If this means I'm itching for a fight, I would say yes, better sooner rather than later, because the likelyhood of having a larger senate majority seems slim at this point in time.
So how many nominees on the WH staff and with no judicial record or experience are currently on his short list? I've got the perfect stealth nominee: Norm Mineta! He's worked closely with Bush. He knows him. And he's....he's worked in a Republican administration.