If this doesn't scare the shit out of you enough to help defeat Bush, nothing will.
From the Associated Press:
Clarence Thomas has been interviewed by White House lawyers as a possible choice to be the next chief justice of the United States, says the author of a new biography.
Thomas says he isn't interested but could find it hard to turn down an opportunity to be the first black man to lead the Supreme Court, said biographer Ken Foskett.
. . . Thomas is the youngest of the justices at 56 and could remain on the court for decades.
Whether he is elevated to chief justice "all depends on Bush being re-elected,'' Foskett said.
Thomas' promotion to the court's top job would also depend on the exit of his boss, 79-year-old Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.
Rehnquist is not expected to retire before the November presidential election, but might do so in a second Bush term. The White House has a short list of candidates for any Supreme Court vacancy, and has presumably interviewed several potential nominees to succeed Rehnquist.
The only fun part of the article is this:
Nominating Thomas would guarantee a rancorous Senate confirmation battle and a reprise of lurid allegations of sexual harassment involving former employee Anita Hill.
Those tawdry details still probably define Thomas for most people, and he knows his conservative views and opposition to affirmative action make him unpopular with the black civil rights establishment, Foskett said.
For me, control of the Supreme Court is THE most important factor of November's election. The thought of Clarence Thomas as Chief Justice for (possibly) decades is a nightmare far worse than 4 years of George Bush.