Monday, October 25, 2004

NewsClip: Is that all the October Surprise ya got?

"U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the leader of the Supreme Court's conservative majority, has undergone surgery for thyroid cancer, a court spokeswoman said on Monday. His illness, disclosed just eight days before the presidential election, threw a focus on the issue of possible replacements for aging judges on the nine-member court, some of whom are expected to retire during the next presidency."

Which, of course, is exactly what it was intended to do.

Here's the story ...

I have to admit it: I'm underwhelmed. I expected Bush to swagger out for a press conference with Osama bin Laden's head on a platter, or arrange for a nuclear detonation in a major blue state city, or something extravagant. I expected him to think big, dammit.

This isn't extravagant, it's just petty. We'll probably see Antonin Scalia faking grand mal seizures on the sidewalk in front of the court next, or maybe Clarence Thomas in a close encounter with the artist formerly known as Mrs. John Bobbitt. "Puh-leeze, voters, don't elect a president who'll appoint Raul Castro to the Supreme Court -- can't you see we're dying here?"

The Republicans apparently think the electorate is stupid enough to buy into "the increased number and ferocity of attacks in Iraq prove we're winning," but smart enough to give a rat's ass about Supreme Court appointments over the next four years, but yet again stupid enough to believe that Rehnquist just happened to schedule his surgery for the week before the election.

Pathetic.

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