Specter for Chief Justice, or maybe Hatch:

With all of the conservatives fulminating over Arlen Specter, wouldn’t it be poetic justice if Bush appointed him as Chief Justice to the Supreme Court as Charles Schumer suggests? He’d have no problem getting confirmed; but the anti-Roe folks would go nuts. That alone would prevent Bush from nominating Specter. Some time ago, I heard that Orin Hatch might be a contender for Chief Justice (at least, it’s a job he’d like to have). A Hatch nomination would go over better than a Specter. Again, the Senate would have no problem confirming Hatch, and he’d probably satisfy most (but not all) of the social conservatives as well. And I agree that Alberto Gonzalez is also confirmable.

So that’s three fairly solid conservatives (but not quite as extreme as say a Bork or a Scalia) that I have identified that could be confirmed to the Supreme Court:

1. Michael McConnell
2. Orin Hatch
3. Alberto Gonzalez

Re: Sandefur’s suggestion that Bush nominate Justice Ginsburg as Chief Justice—I’d have no problem with it, but symbolically, this will drive the social cons nuts. Nominating Justice Kennedy—the author of Lawrence v. Texas, but still far more conservative than Ginsburg—as Chief Justice would cause a big enough fuss among social conservatives.