Fool Me Twice
By Michael Kinsley
Sunday, January 16, 2005; Page B07

Will President Bush actually have the guts to nominate Clarence Thomas for chief justice when that opportunity arises, which will probably be soon? You know he's just aching to do it. Because of their shared judicial philosophy, of course. But also because of that arrogant willfulness Bush has that a more generous person than myself might even call integrity. Heck, why be president if you can't rub your critics' noses in it?

And will the Democrats have the guts to oppose Justice Thomas's elevation to chief, resisting all the cries of, "Oh, for mercy's sake, you people -- not that again"? Those cries are starting preemptively, in an effort to cow the opposition party out of opposing a Thomas nomination. I wish I could be as confident of the Democrats' guts as I am of the president's.

Ordinarily it's considered to be an advantage when a presidential nominee has already gone through a Senate confirmation hearing. One reason Bush chose Michael Chertoff for secretary of homeland security after his first nominee imploded is that Chertoff already had been confirmed as a federal judge. He's filled out the forms, been investigated, testified: Like a pre-approved mortgage, he can slip right through.

But Clarence Thomas is different, because his famous 1991 confirmation hearing was different. His strategy was to do or say anything that would allow him to crawl past the finish line. When the prize is a virtually invulnerable lifetime appointment, that's a good strategy. But it can and should haunt you when you put in for a promotion.