Forget about replacing O'Connor

We may have just received our first glimpse as to whom President Bush might want to see as our next Chief Justice when Rehnquist retires...

Bush asked former Senator, former attorney, and popular actor Fred Thompson to guide his next nominee through the process.  Why is this so significant?

Remember when Bush was first nominated to be the Republican Presidential candidate?  Before he had a running mate, he asked Dick Cheney to help him head up the Vice Presidential search.  Soon thereafter, he announced that Dick Cheney would be his running mate.

Does history repeat itself?

Fred Thompson is actually well-qualified to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  He was a distinguished graduate of Vanderbilt Law School and went straight to work as a United States Attorney.  As a young lawyer, he was instrumental in the Watergate hearings, and asked the infamous question, "What did Richard Nixon know, and when did he know it?"  He then took down the corrupt Governor of Tennessee, Ray Blanton.  It was this real-life case that led to his acting career when he was asked to play himself in a film about the ordeal.  He went on to appear in numerous films and television shows.  He continued to serve as an attorney in a number of governmental areas, including special counsel to Governor Alexander, special counsel to the Senate Intelligence and Foreign Relations Committees, and the Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission.  Thompson filled the vacant Senate seat of Al Gore and was re-elected in a landslide.  While in the Senate, he chaired the Committee on Government Affairs.  He knows the government, and he knows the law.

After retiring from the Senate in 2002, Thompson returned to the screen to play... an attorney!

Now Thompson has the opportunity to walk a nominee from the President's recommendation through the Senate and into the Supreme Court.  It's a chance not only to help the President, but for the President to judge Thompson's appeal.  If Bush nominates someone controversial, and Thompson proves himself by helping to get that nomination confirmed, then I think we can expect Thompson himself to be chosen for the biggest role of his career a short time later.

Thompson is a solid conservative.  We should seriously consider him as a future Chief Justice.  It might be Bush's plan.

Comments

[gid]

Wow! Great thought! Did you come up with this yourself? You are the first I have heard talk about this.

[Sailor Republica]

Just as long as Alberto "La Raza" Gonzales doesn't get in, I'd be happy with Fred Thompson.

Besides, it'd be interesting to see a Supreme Court Justice possibly on Law and Order.

[SGT Jeff (IRR)]

I wouldn't have a problem with this...

It would be interesting to see if the Democrats are willing to violate the "Club Rules" to villify one of their former collegues.

[Gullyborg]

They villified Ashcroft... who would also make an excellent Justice...

[Gullyborg]

gid: yes, I came up with this myself--although others are now repeating me.