O'Connor Retires From Supreme Court

Oh, boy. Here we go.

As I'm sure you've heard, 75-year-old Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced today that she is retiring. George W. Bush has vowed to nominate a new Justice quickly to replace O'Connor, who has long been a swing vote on such important issues as abortion rights.

While I lost all respect for O'Connor when she voted to hand the 2000 presidential election to Bush by supporting the specious "equal protection" argument, Bush is certain to appoint someone who will make O'Connor look like Michael Moore, and push the court even further to the right. In other words, a big fight is coming.

It seems to me that that the roadmap for how this plays out hinges on how Bush chooses to deal with his devastating slide in popularity in the last year. He may be statesmanlike and actually consult with Senate Democrats in an effort to gain favor with moderate Americans, who increasingly see him (correctly) as a far-right ideologue.

Or he may decide to firm up his Religious Right base and remain as arrogant as he has been since the day he stole the election. Don't forget, this is the same guy who nominated a man who hates the United Nations to be our chief ambassador to that body and, despite a protracted fight over that appointment, has still not withdrawn the nomination.

Strap yourselves in, Gang. It's going to be a bumpy summer.