Free Republic

The black Republican abolitionist Frederick Douglass said, “Without struggle, there is no progress.” Successful people in every walk of life grow in character and ability by seeking new and greater challenges to master. In Judging Thomas, Ken Foskett shows Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's struggles against poverty and prejudice as well as the determination to earn respect through excellence. Justice Thomas' life has proved his approach correct—hard work prevails over prejudice. Clarence Thomas came of age when Americans were struggling to rethink their perceptions about race and their attitudes toward blacks. Forced to confront their actions, Americans chose to change...

Tom Daschle may be gone, but his method isn't forgotten. At least not by his successor as Senate Minority Leader, Harry Reid, who got his tenure off to a rousing start on Sunday by calling Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas an "embarrassment," who writes "poorly" besides. We doubt this was a slip of the tongue. By attacking Mr. Thomas personally and suggesting he's not too bright, Mr. Reid was signaling to President Bush that if he promotes Mr. Thomas to Chief Justice the fight will be mean and bloody and not limited to Constitutional issues. Democrats will try to destroy...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Clarence Thomas has been interviewed by White House lawyers as a possible choice to be the next chief justice of the United States, says the author of a new biography. Thomas says he isn't interested but could find it hard to turn down an opportunity to be the first black man to lead the Supreme Court, said biographer Ken Foskett. "Judging Thomas," out this week from William Morrow, traces Thomas' life from rough beginnings in rural Georgia, through Yale Law School to his life today. Thomas initially refused Foskett's request for interviews, but later spoke to...