White House interviews candidates for Rehnquist post, official says

[sabra]

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http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/11951070.htm

White House interviews candidates for Rehnquist post, official says

BY JAN CRAWFORD GREENBURG

Chicago Tribune


WASHINGTON - (KRT) - Stepping up preparations for the possible retirement of Chief Justice William Rehnquist - perhaps as early as next week - the White House has narrowed its list to a handful of federal appeals court judges and has conducted interviews with leading contenders, a senior administration official said Tuesday.

Senior White House officials and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have interviewed top candidates and briefed President Bush, but the president has not made a decision, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

White House officials also consider Gonzales to be a possible nominee, according to the official and other sources close to the administration. But the focus has been on the other judges, leaving Gonzales in a separate category because of the president's longstanding familiarity with him, the official said.

Gonzales, 49, would meet fierce opposition from the conservative groups that see him as too moderate to replace the conservative Rehnquist. As a Texas Supreme Court justice, Gonzales voted to strike down some state abortion regulations, and as White House counsel, he opposed taking a hard line against affirmative action.

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[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Gonzalez is too liberal? My God!

You'd think the wingnuts would forgive his positions on abortion and affirmative action on account of his enlightened conservatism on the issue of torture. :sarcasm:

[48pan]

2. Don't quote me butt...

Scalia as new Chief Justice and Orin Hatch as new justice.
Hatch will skate throught the Senate and his seat is pretty safe.

(Just a prediction)

[Zynx]

3. Gonzales for Rehnquist would be a good trade

Not the least because it would make Freeper and Christian Taliban heads burst.

[Massacure]

4. Gonzalez versus Rehnquist; who is further left?