Rehnquist To Retire After Bush Returns

Bob Novak is now saying that Chief Justice Rehnquist will retire after President Bush's return from Europe later this afternoon...

Rehnquist to Retire?

Robert Novak reports that Chief Justice Rehnquist is going to retire before weeks end. Given that it is now Friday morning, that would not leave much time for it to happen. I suppose we shall find out in the coming hours...

Ex-Senator Thompson To Assist Nominee

Former Senator Fred Thompson of Tennessee (now District Attorney Arthur Branch on Law & Order), was chosen by the White House to guide the nominee selected by President Bush through the nomination process.

Schumer Goes To War?

The Drudge Report is reporting that Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was overheard telling someone, in relation to the upcoming Supreme Court nomination battle, that "We are contemplating how we are going to go to war over this."

The conventional wisdom is that the nomination battle will be contentious, regardless of the President's selection. Given that conventional wisdom bandied about by the media is frequently incorrect, it might be wise to wait and see who the nominee is, before making any grand conclusions.

No doubt, Senator Schumer and others will attempt to ruffle the feathers of whoever is nominated, but in the end, there should easily be enough votes on the floor of the Senate to confirm all but the most controversial or potentially problematic candidates.

Back From The Abyss...

Campaign Line will be returning shortly, given the time constraints of law student summer associate life. For now, check out an interesting post, made in November by one of our very own, regarding Justice O'Connor's potential replacements:

http://campaignline.blogspot.com/2004/11/replacing-oconnorwith-who.html