Much speculation about the President having the opportunity to "remake" the Supreme Court. I beg to differ.
I assume that, with the possible exception of Justice Kennedy, none of the conservatives will voluntarily retire during President Obama's second term. Justice Kennedy isn't a doctrinaire conservative, either.
Justice Ginsburg is widely reputed to be in declining good health and likely will retire. President Obama will be able to appoint a younger, ideally much younger, replacement who will hold that seat for the liberals for another twenty years or more, but the balance of the Court will be unchanged. Justice Breyer is 74, but in apparently good health, actively involved in his work, and likely would want to remain on the Court unless he could be persuaded to retire early to make way for a younger Justice. But again, no change in the overall balance of the Court, even if that were to happen. Justices Sotomayor and Kagan are young women who likely won't be contemplating retirement for another ten or fifteen years.
Turning to the conservative side, Justice Scalia is 76, but apparently in good health. I assume he'd have to be pried out of his chair with a crowbar and carried out on a gurney. He'll hang on for another four years. Justice Kennedy is also 76, but in apparently even more vigorous good health than Justice Scalia. By all reports, he relishes his position as the fulcrum on which the Court tilts. I can't see him retiring unless his health dictates it.
Thomas, Alito, and Roberts are all relatively young men. Although there have been a few intriguing rumors about Roberts' finding the job financially "challenging". He had to give up a seven-figure salary as a partner in a major law firm to take his job and, worse yet, his wife, also a senior partner in a major law firm, has found herself limited in the kinds of cases she may take on. So the family income took a double hit. Presumably, they invested well, but the stories I've heard claim the family is finding it difficult to maintain the style of living to which they had become accustomed. I can't imagine Thomas or Alito retiring and I can't see Roberts retiring while there is a Democrat in the White House if he can avoid it.
I believe the President will make a much greater impact on American jurisprudence with his appointments to the Circuit Courts and the District Courts than he will with his appointment(s) to the Supreme Court. Accordingly, I hope he makes filling judicial vacancies one of his priorities in the next year.