
President Obama greets Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with a hug and a smile at his 2009 address to Congress. Justice Ginsburg had recently returned to the bench after surgery for pancreatic cancer. (Melina Mara-The Washington Post)
Ginsburg is the Court's oldest member, at 79 years old, and is in her 20th year on the court.
As a member of the court's liberal wing, she would ensure that President Obama gets to pick her replacement if she retired sometime in the next four years -- something that would hearten liberals.
Ginsburg most recently made headlines for nodding off repeatedly during the State of the Union address -- though it was hardly the first time she has had that problem.
Ginsburg underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2009 but returned to the bench soon afterward.