The 2008 Elections and the Court

SCOTUSblog has this interesting piece about how the 2008 election could affect the Supreme Court makeup.

It's assumed that if ia Democrat wins, we could see the retirement of Justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Both are elderly and in poor health, seemingly holding on waiting for liberal replacements.

Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSblog seems to think Justice David Souter might retire under a Democrat president, as well. His reasoning is that Souter has never been beholden to Court appointment like some other justices and may consider a Democrat president to be his best bet of getting out before he is too old to enjoy retirement.

The scenarios Goldstein lays out are relatively well-known. The four justices on the right of the Court, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, and Samuel Alito, aren't going anywhere any time soon, so the conservative wing of the court is secured.

It's on the left side of the Court that any major changes could come. This is why Democrats will be absolutely rabid if a Republican wins the presidential election in '08. Expect high velocity shrieking about coathanger abortions, lynchings, and nuclear war if a Republican president is elected.

The one thing not addressed in Goldstein's article is what happens if a Democrat of moderate turns is elected? What if a Democrat president nominates a Kennedyesque justice as opposed to a hardcore lefty like Ginsburg or Stevens? I realize it may be wishful thinking on my part--after all, every justice nominated by a Democrat president performs as expected--but is it not a possibility and shouldn't that be explored? And will Republicans simply roll over and allow any nominee through the system after what we've experienced over the last 30 years?