Bob Novak doesn’t see a conservative court:
Conservatives who have spent more than a decade planning for this moment to change the balance of power on the Supreme Court are reeling from blows delivered by two dissimilar political leaders: Edward M. Kennedy and George W. Bush. Sen. Kennedy has succeeded with the news media in establishing a new standard of “mainstream conservatism” for a justice. President Bush has put forth “friendship” as a qualification for being named to the high court.
Bush is by far the bigger obstacle in the way of a conservative court. While Kennedy’s ploy presents a temporary problem, Bush’s stance could be fatal.
The sad thing is, a lot of Republicans are actually going to be surprised. And yet this will not, of course, alter their behavior at all in 2008.