Nice little Washington Post “lifestyle” piece on Judge Ginsburg:
… It shows what a different time it was in judicial politics that Ginsburg — a leader of the American Civil Liberties Union, a believer in the “evolving” Constitution and promoted by the White House as a supporter of abortion rights — was approved by the Senate, 96 to 3.
She is reminded each time she unlocks the door to her chambers; her key is on a plastic keychain with the words, “With best wishes, Strom Thurmond.” The former segregationist and Dixiecrat from South Carolina was one of the 96.
So Ginsburg understands politics but does not feel she faces a deadline to leave so that Obama, whom she admires, can choose her successor.
“I think it’s going to be another Democratic president” after Obama, Ginsburg said. “The Democrats do fine in presidential elections; their problem is they can’t get out the vote in the midterm elections.”…
There is something of a Ginsburg renaissance at work. Her willingness to take on the conservatives on the court has delighted liberals, who never thought she was quite liberal or bold enough. Students pack her appearances at law schools. The slightly profane Ruth Bader GinsBlog praises her every move; “Notorious R.B.G.” T-shirts are available online.
A new opera, “Scalia/Ginsburg,” will premiere next year, the work of Derrick Wang, a composer and recent graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law. Dueling constitutional interpretations, set to music.
And still, the question: When is it time to leave a lifetime appointment?
“When I can’t do the job, there will be signs,” Ginsburg said. “I know that Justice [John Paul] Stevens [who retired when he was 90] was concerned the last few years about his hearing. I’ve had no loss of hearing yet. But who knows when it could happen?
“So all I can say is what I’ve already said: At my age, you take it year by year.”
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What’s on the agenda as we wrap up the weekend?