The Waiting Game

Thursday, September 29, 2005

First, I must congratulate John Roberts having recently been sworn in by acting Chief John Paul Stevens to be the next chief justice of the Supreme Court. I wonder what was going through the mind of the longest serving justice who had to swear in a rookie who was placed immediately above him on the court.

With that milestone behind us all eyes turn to Bush's next pick; the all-important replacement for swing voter Sandra Day O'Connor. Word is Bush plans to wait until next week to make his selection, and the reason is beyond me.

The top headline this week is Tom DeLay's criminal indictment, an event that could turn out to be a devastating blow to the GOP. But it's a story that could easily be washed away if Bush were to announce his nomination of, say, Janice Rogers Brown or Priscilla Owen to the Supreme Court as early as tomorrow.

I don't know what's up with Tom DeLay. Conservatives are crying conspiracy while liberals are crying criminal. I'm tired of this partisan fighting. All my energy is focused on the courts. If DeLay gets convicted then he'll get what he deserves. If anything critical develops I'll discuss it, but until then it's a subject you can turn to CNN for.

As for the courts, Democrats are not playing around. With a margin of 78-22, Roberts' confirmation vote was narrower than both of Clinton's picks combined, and any investigation into Ruth Bader Ginsburg reveals an "extremist" just as much as any conservative Bush could pick. Scalia passed through flawlessly without so much as a single 'nay' vote.

Is a filibuster fight looming? Time will soon tell.