Hail To The Chief

...Justice, that is. William Rehnquist finally succumbed to his thyroid cancer last night. He was eighty years old.

Ironically enough, it was my apolitical wife who informed me of it this afternoon (We'd been out most of the day), after a moment's confusion when she told me that a "superior court judge" had passed away.

President Bush made the following statement this morning:

Our nation is saddened today by the news that Chief Justice William Rehnquist passed away last night.

Laura and I send our respect and deepest sympathy to this good man's children, Jim, Janet and Nancy. We send our respect to all the members of the Rehnquist family.

William H. Rehnquist was born and raised in Wisconsin. He was the grandson of Swedish immigrants. Like so many of his generation, he served in the Army during World War II. He went on to college with the help of the G.I. Bill.

He studied law at Stanford University. He graduated first in his class. That included his future colleague Sandra Day O'Connor.

Judge Rehnquist and his late wife, Nan, raised their family in Phoenix, where he built a career as one of Arizona's leading attorneys.

He went on to even greater distinction in public service: as an assistant U.S. attorney general, associate justice of the Supreme Court and, for the past 19 years, chief justice of the United States.

He was extremely well-respected for his powerful intellect. He was respected for his deep commitment to the rule of law and his profound devotion to duty.

He provided superb leadership for the federal court system, improving the delivery of justice for the American people and earning the admiration of his colleagues throughout the judiciary.

Even during a period of illness, Chief Justice Rehnquist stayed on the job to complete the work of his final Supreme Court term.

I was honored and I was deeply touched when he came to the Capitol for the swearing-in last January.

He was a man of character and dedication. His departure represents a great loss for the court and for our country.

There are now two vacancies on the Supreme Court. And it will serve the best interests of the nation to fill those vacancies promptly. I will choose in a timely manner a highly qualified nominee to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist.

As we look to the future of the Supreme Court, citizens of this nation can also look with pride and appreciation on the career of our late chief justice. More than half a century has passed since William H. Rehnquist first came to the Supreme Court as a young law clerk.

All of those years, William Rehnquist revered the Constitution and the laws of the United States. He led the judicial branch of government with tremendous wisdom and skill.

He honored America with a lifetime of service, and America will honor his memory.

May God bless the Rehnquist family.

Thank you all very much.

The timing of Rehnquist's demise is fortuitous for the John Roberts nomination, in Cap'n Ed's estimation:

His death will set off a new round of guesswork on a new nominee to the Supreme Court, but will also put pressure on the Senate to expedite Roberts through the confirmation process. Having one opening on the first Monday in October would have created enough political embarrassment for the Senate, but allowing two will create too much blowback for the moderates, especially those in vulnerable states. A few Senators will have to let their few minutes of Judiciary Committee inquisition satisfy their need for a pound of conservative flesh.

Morrissey predicts a similar time-frame for Rehnquist's replacement, with "a nominee by the end of September, and...confirmation hearings in late October or early November."

As to the identity of the nominee, the same old "pick a moderate" mantra is already off and galloping in the Extreme Media, only with a really sick twist:

Kathryn [Jean Lopez] mentioned Tim Russert raising this on MTP this morning and Lanny Davis later said on Fox News that George Bush should nominate someone from the moderate, center of the country because of the hurricane. This follows Susan Estrich’s claim last evening that the seat should be filled by Edith Clement because she is a woman, and from Louisiana. I’ve heard of the supposed woman and minority seats on the court, but a hurricane seat? These commentators make clear that hurricanes aren’t the only things full of ill wind. [emphasis added]

Unfortunately, given the evidently Katrina-timid PR mindset of the White House at the moment, that may well be what they end up doing:

My guess, therefore, is that Bush will nominate someone who is physically attractive, lacks a long judicial record, and is not a liberal. He would also like to nominate someone who, like Roberts, has phenomenal academic and work experience credentials. However, it may be hard to find a candidate who meets that criterion on the top of the others. Thus, in the hope of pulling off another coup, Bush may well turn to a minority or female candidate. Edith Clement, who some say was the runner-up last time, might be a good bet. The fact that she's also from Louisiana won't hurt, but I don't think it will be a real factor in the decision. Alberto Gonzales is another strong possibility, I imagine.

Clement would be another O'Connor, and Gonzalez would be another Souter. Either of those choices would set off an open revolt in the President's base, especially after the unopposed shit he's taken from the Left over Katrina relief.

In fact, as Brother Meringoff urges, he should send up Appellate Court Judge Michael Luttig, the second individual after John Roberts on the conservative SCOTUS short-list, who is every bit as qualified as JR and about whom there is not the slightest ambiguity of his "judicial philosophy." This would shove the Democrats' despicable antics right up their asses, sideways, as well as move the Court another long step toward its proper - and, shall I say, "original" - constitutional role.

Want additional incentive? Read this:

In the wee hours of the morning, I had the displeasure of dealing with the contemptible Professor Alan Dershowitz and his vicious personal attack on Chief Justice Rehnquist on Fox News literally moments after the nation learned of his death. While I was thinking worse, I had the good judgment to limit my verbal characterization of Dershowitz as a disgrace and a jerk.

I hope to find a transcript or excerpt of what Dershowitz said, but I have no problem taking Mark Levin's word for it. It fits the Left's hatemongering MO, after all.

A Luttig appointment would be the best tribute President Bush could pay Chief Justice Rehnquist, as well as the best political move he could make. What better revenge could he exact for slurs like these than to inexorably take Olympus away from them?

I think we in the GOP grassroots will accept no less.