Souter’s retiring. I suspect this isn’t how President Obama envisioned the beginning of his term in office. Oh well, idle hands are the Devil’s playthings.
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27 comments
April 30, 2009 at 8:22 pm
TommyO
I can imagine he said “You gotta be kidding me? He couldn’t wait just one more year?” What other problem might be left to fix or hole to fill?
April 30, 2009 at 8:23 pm
kid bitzer
awesome. i hope he nominates dawn johnsen.
April 30, 2009 at 8:45 pm
Tyler
Obama probably wants to nominate himself. Not that he will.
April 30, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Daniel
If by “expect” you meant that Obama didn’t imagine he’d be picking a Supreme Court Justice then I agree that he’ll be surprised. But if you mean that he’ll be troubled or that this is a gamechanger I disagree. It’s not. Kennedy is still the deciding vote. Either way though, flu epidemic, Specter defecting, and now this —it’s been a busy week.
May 1, 2009 at 12:14 am
herbert browne
Are We a truly “Modern” nation, yet? Could we have a media celebrity- & a cartoon character- as a Supreme? I nominate Mr. Peabody… ^..^
May 1, 2009 at 4:20 am
Jason B.
I nominate Mr. Peabody…
I like Space Ghost.
May 1, 2009 at 4:22 am
rea
He might not have anticipated replacing this particular justice this early, but given that John Paul Stevens was born in 1920, Pres. Obama had to have been thinking about the possibility of making a Supreme Court appointment early in his term.
May 1, 2009 at 4:44 am
silbey
John Paul Stevens, Jan 20, 2001: Dammit! (inserts own IV, puts on oxygen mask).
John Paul Stevens, Jan 20, 2005: Crap! (jabs adrenaline needle through breastbone into own heart)
John Paul Stevens, Jan 20, 2009: Thank God! Just give it a few months… (breaks smelling salts under nose, chews on nitro tablets like candy)
John Paul Stevens, May 1, 2009: Hey, Souter, where do you think you’re going? Hey! Dammit! Clear! (Gives own heart electric shock).
May 1, 2009 at 5:13 am
Walt
Souter apparently gave Stevens the opportunity to retire first, which Stevens declined. This is less surprising when you find out that his real name is John Paul McStevens of the clan McStevens.
May 1, 2009 at 6:31 am
kevin
Lisa: “Dad, nerds are nothing to fear. In fact, they’ve done some pretty memorable things. Some nerds of note include popcorn magnate Orville Reddenbacher, rock star David Byrne, and Supreme Court Justice David Souter.”
Homer: “Oh no! Not Souter!”
May 1, 2009 at 6:47 am
ajay
It’s really strange to realise just how much of the course of US politics depends on exactly when a few very powerful people die… very monarchical.
May 1, 2009 at 7:14 am
kevin
I think it’s time to merge FDR’s court-packing plan and Logan’s Run — whenever a Justice reaches 70, they have to enter the Carousel ceremony.
I’m not sure how well this would work, but I’d love to see Scalia flying upward like the Wicked Witch of the West.
May 1, 2009 at 7:14 am
MikeJ
I also wonder about the health and inclination to stay of Ginsburg.
Three nominations in one term looks not only possible, but sort of likely.
May 1, 2009 at 8:10 am
kid bitzer
if the obama administration wants to improve its ranking, the smart move would be to nominate brian leiter.
May 1, 2009 at 8:40 am
Hortense
I hope he nominates Ann Aiken.
May 1, 2009 at 8:44 am
Ahistoricality
Silbey, that’s funny.
Seriously, though, don’t conservative justices ever get sick? And why do the liberal ones keep eating in the cafeteria?
May 1, 2009 at 8:45 am
AWC
Perhaps Souter realized he can get married if he just moves home to New Hampshire.
I wonder what the wingers would say.
May 1, 2009 at 12:05 pm
politicalfootball
Ahistoricality, I will leave it to the historians to provide the numbers and comparitive analysis, but if memory serves, starting with Clearence Thomas, Republicans started picking justices in part with youth and good health in mind. They wanted to screw up the country for a long time.
May 1, 2009 at 12:13 pm
Jason B.
. . . the smart move would be to nominate brian leiter.
How cool would it be if the next Supreme Court Justice was a blogger?
May 1, 2009 at 1:06 pm
bitchphd
I thought Souter was reported to have said before the election that if Obama won he’d retire–which, if true, probably not a big surprise to BO.
I don’t know who he should nominate, b/c I don’t know jack about federal judges. But it would be totally awesome if the nominee were a woman of color.
May 1, 2009 at 1:08 pm
bitchphd
(And, I hasten to add, I think that’s very likely, because BO is one of the first presidents ever for whom professional women of color seem to be equally on his radar with professional white men.)
May 1, 2009 at 2:16 pm
AaLD
But it would be totally awesome if the nominee were a woman of color.
Can he nominate Michelle?
May 1, 2009 at 2:41 pm
bitchphd
Aw, man. That’s totally it. So awesome.
May 1, 2009 at 2:49 pm
jazzbumpa
Michelle Bachman? On the Supreme Court?
I’m not sure that’s a really good choice . . .
May 1, 2009 at 4:47 pm
jim
At Unfogged, Apo discovered someone who wants him to nominate Anita Hill.
I am overcome by the awesomeness of the notion.
May 2, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Neil the Ethical Werewolf
During the Bush Administration, I was wondering whether we’d see John Paul Stevens in a politically reversed Terri Schiavo scenario. After some health calamity, he’d have hooked himself up to life support to keep his heart beating until a Democratic administration. Republicans would insist that he was dead and a new justice had to be appointed, while Democrats would say that he was still alive.
May 2, 2009 at 6:33 pm
herbert browne
*Republicans would insist that he was dead and a new justice had to be appointed, while Democrats would say that he was still alive*
…and, because he’d never signed the “organ donor” card, the soothsayer’s prophecy that “only by eating the fresh liver of a liberal Supreme Court justice could life be prolonged” was thwarted… and Strom had to die… ^..^