Hypothetical Question: Assuming a Dem is elected in '08

How would you feel if he asked the more 'mature' SCOTUS members (ie. the liberal ones) to 'retire' and then appoint younger members so they could 'last longer' and safeguard the makeup of the court (ie. not going farther to the right) for another 20-30 years?)

"A president can't be seen influencing what the justices have for breakfast."

I suspect all the SCOTUS members have their own intentions of when they want to retire and under what leadership.

I would also hope that a Dem leader would nominate a candidate who would be a constitutional scholar and vote their judgement according to the law!

He or she will have no time for your scenario. They will be under constant fire for each and every little thing he or she does. It happened to the last Democrat president and there's no reason to believe that it won't happen again. Repubs will not take losing what they consider theirs lying down.

the new picks will have a hard time ever being put on the bench.

I mean there are a few Justices who are getting older other than Stevens, Ginsburg is already in her early 70's, and Scalia is turning 70 this year. But if a Dem wins in 2008, there is no way in hell would Scalia retire under a Dem., unless he just drops dead one day. But Ginsburg may be just waiting for a Dem. to come into office, even through I've heard rumors of her retirement may soon become a reality, but yet there have are people I know, who feel that there's no way in hell that Ginsburg would retire under a Repug.

It was good enough for FDR.

A president could certainly ask older justices to retire, but they'd probably laugh in his or her face, regardless of party. The appointment is for life, and most of them are loathe to give it up. Notice that Rehnquist didn't retire, even when he was dying of cancer. And it looks as if the only reason O'Connor retired is that her husband has Alzheimer's and needs a lot of care.

The problems of this country have little to do with the Supreme Court.

Even if a Dem is elected in two years, that person will inherit a huge massive deficit, wars in the middle east, a declining economy, and, what have I left out?

I'm beginning to think we don't want a Dem to have any chance of winning in '08 because why should we have to clean up the messes the Republicans have made? And shouldn't things get so incredibly bad that in the end EVERYONE will fully understand how terrible these people have been. I want them to have a zero percent approval rating.