chef juge (pardon my french)

i never imagined i'd say this, but i wish wm rehnquist had lived long enough to preside at another impeachment.

i wonder if the guy he put in office—my intended defendant—gave sandra day o'connor a chance to stay on as the first female chief before he upgraded her heir apparent, forcing her to serve longer as a mere associate.

of course, she put him in office too, so she shares the blame, and she made her retirement contingent on confirmation of a successor, so she knew she might have to serve longer, but at the pace things were moving she must've got her hopes up that she'd be able to leave dc sooner to be with her sick husband.

as for the departed, in all of his last public appearances it must've been obvious he was on his last legs, so he could've saved the country some inconvenience if he'd announced his retirement at the same time as sandy day.

but that's not how it works, is it? most folk don't want to face death, so they don't admit to themselves that it's near. from what i've heard, fdr did essentially the same thing when he ran for reelection in '44.

human nature....