Supreme Speculation

I'm not positive the Dems would go to the mat against the less-than-hard-line Gonzales.

The Spoons Experience hopes the Standard piece is wrong:

"Fortunately, Kristol is notoriously bad at predicting . . . well . . . anything. Unfortunately, I think he could be right about this one.

"Obviously, anything that gets O'Connor -- Reagan's most catastrophic mistake -- off the Court is a good thing. Actually, that's an understatement. If O'Connor goes, the sky will be bluer, beer will taste colder, angels will weep tears of joy, and a chorus of leprechauns will dance a jaunty jig on the infield grass at Wrigley Field. Or something like that.

"Just about the only thing that that could ruin the gift from God that an O'Connor retirement would represent would be the appointment of liberal Alberto Gonzales ('Gonzales is Spanish for Souter') as her replacement. If that happens, conservatives will once again get to watch as the elected Republican leadership manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory."

The Wall Street Journal has this horse-race piece:

"If Mr. Bush is willing to take on an ideological battle reminiscent of those over Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork, he may turn to Judge Michael McConnell, whom he placed on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver; Judge McConnell has been the most outspoken on the hot-button issue of abortion, making clear he thinks Roe v. Wade, the 1973 opinion that recognized abortion rights, should be overturned. The White House might expect a less-contentious conflict with another of Mr. Bush's appellate-court nominees, District of Columbia Circuit Judge John Roberts, whose even demeanor and dearth of controversial rulings could make it tougher for Democrats to characterize him as an extremist candidate.

"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales would be the first Hispanic nominated to the high court and would fit well into Mr. Bush's long-term political strategy of winning Latinos to the Republican Party. Mr. Gonzales also could appeal to centrists, because he would likely be criticized by conservatives for not being tough enough on abortion and by liberals for being too lax in protecting military prisoners."

By the way, The Washington Post seems a little overexcited about Rehnquist stepping down. Bloglines has some headlines that the Web site sent out, including "Chief Justice Rehnquist Retires/Dies" and "Rehnquist: A Justice's Journey." D'oh! Having poked other news outlets for prematurely announcing the death of people from Bob Hope to the Pope, I hereby announce that whoever hit the wrong button should receive 50 lashes.

Rove has really angered liberals and Democrats with his remarks about 9/11, reported by the NYT here, and they're giving him the Durbin treatment.

Rove told a fundraiser: "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 in the attacks and prepared for war; liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."

He also said: "Al Jazeera now broadcasts the words of Senator Durbin to the Mideast, certainly putting our troops in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals."