O'CONNOR RETIRES!

Fifteen minutes ago, the Post broke the story that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement this morning in a letter to the President! O'Connor has long been a key swing vote in a split court, and the opportunity to replace her before the conservative Rehnquist raises the possibility of a conservative majority. Bush's "short list" of potential nominees is rumored to include no women, and there's always been pressure to replace justices with similar individuals. (One president got in trouble for giving a "Jewish seat" to a gentile).

I believe it was James Taranto who suggested that a smart strategy for the president would be to use one of the recently approved compromise nominees as a Supreme Court appointment, since it would put the Democrats on the Gang of 14 in a very uncomfortable position. Since two of those justices were women, and since the fight to replace a moderate with a conservative will be tougher than if Bush were merely replacing already-conservative Rehnquist, this might well come to pass.

It's going to be an exciting summer in Washington!