ONE LAST HURRAH
Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court William Rehnquist is sicker than anyone has imagined according to this article by Vincent Morris in today’s New York Post:
The longtime chief justice hasn’t been seen in public in several months and it was clear to me why.
Rehnquist was hunched over in his wheelchair, an old hunting cap pulled down low over his ears to cover up his blotchy skin and near baldness, possibly the result of the aggressive treatment he’s getting for his thyroid cancer.
His eyes looked sunken and lifeless. A plastic collar was wrapped tightly around his neck, where his throat had been opened recently for a tracheotomy.
I tried to make eye contact and wanted to offer a word of encouragement. Our eyes never met.
The Chief has been at the center of some enormous controversies over his tenure both as Chief Justice and Associate Justice since Richard Nixon appointed him in 1972. At that time, he was considered something of a fringe figure, far out on the right wing. Since then, of course, history has proven Nixon to be something of a prophet as both the courts and the country have moved Rehnquist into the mainstream. This from Jeffrey Toobin, liberal commentator for CNN on legal affairs:
The issue he is most identified with among people who follow the court is the power of the states versus the federal government.
He is someone who believes that the federal government should be limited and the states should have greater power. But on a lot of issues, the country has come around somewhat to his thinking, but not entirely.
Prior to Rehnquist’s ascendancy, both the Warren Court of the 50’s and 60’s and the Burger Court of the early 70’s sought to radically expand not only the role, but the influence of the federal government in matters previously thought to be the province of state legislatures.
Rehnquist has participated in some of the most important Supreme Court decisions in history. Appointed to the Chief Justice’s slot in 1986 by Ronald Reagan, Rehnquist’s tenure has been marked by controversial decisions involving the partial rollback of Affirmative Action, restricting abortion rights, weakening Miranda law that some have credited with drastically reducing crime, as well as presiding over the historic impeachment trial of President Clinton.
Rehnquist is obviously very sick. He’s attended only one session of the court this term and, from what Mr. Morris has seen, is extremely weak and fragile. But Mr. Rehnquist has one more duty to perform; the swearing in of President Bush on January 20th.
Given all that Mr. Rehnquist has accomplished, I believe he deserves this last moment in the sun. Liberals will do all they can to besmirch his record, his legacy, and predictably his integrity. It will be left to historians to judge how successful the Chief was in keeping the forces of socialism at bay and preserving the freedom of generations to come.