The Confirmation by Ralph Reed Page B

barrio.”
    â€œUpside: solid guy, good record, Hispanic,” interjected Battaglia. “Downside: he’s only been on the DC Circuit a short time.”
    Long let out a long whistle. “He sounds great. Who else?”
    â€œWe have four women on the short list. The two strongest candidates are former Congresswoman Susan Cunningham, who currently sits on the Florida Supreme Court, and Yolanda Majette, African-American chief justice of the California Supreme Court.”
    â€œI know Yolanda. She’s impressive,” Long replied. “Can she handle the scrutiny of a Supreme Court confirmation?”
    â€œShe’s tough,” offered Battaglia. “Penneymounter will have a hard time attacking her.”
    â€œAlright, let’s take a vote,” Long said. “Who’s your top choice?” Everyone appeared stunned that Long was putting them on the spot. “Let’s go around the table.”
    â€œBob Hillman,” said Golden. “He’s the best. It’s not even close.”
    Art Morris, assistant attorney general in charge of the Office of Legal Counsel had said nothing during the meeting. He kept his head down, taking notes. “Mr. President, you won’t find a more brilliant nominee with a better judicial temperament than Judge Hillman.”
    â€œPhil?”
    â€œMajette or Diaz, in that order,” said Battaglia. “I don’t think we can ignore the fact that there is only one African-American and two women on the Court right now. There is currently no Hispanic. If you get a vacancy, it’s an opportunity to capture the country’s imagination.”
    Long nodded. “You guys meet with the top candidates very informally. This won’t rise to a presidential decision unless and until there is a vacancy.” He took a final swig of coffee. “Focus on anything personal that could be a problem. I’d prefer not to have any surprises.”
    â€œWe’ll do a full GI track exam on all of them,” assured Golden.
    When the meeting broke up, Battaglia approached the president. “Can I see you for a moment?” he said in a half whisper. The president put his arm around him and walked him across the hall to the Oval, leaving Golden and his aides behind. He closed the door.
    â€œI spoke to the chief justice,” said Battaglia.
    â€œWhat did he say?”
    â€œHe told me Franklin’s chances of recovery are zero. He’s being kept alive on a feeding tube. According to the chief, the family is in denial, and they won’t pull the plug because they don’t want you to appoint his successor.”
    â€œUnbelievable,” said Long. “He could live for years.”
    â€œThe chief says he strongly opposes Congress’s removing Franklin,” said Battaglia. “He views it as a separation of powers issue. But for the same reason he does not want to take Jimmerson on publicly.”
    â€œThat’s great,” said Long. “We’ve got a split court, a comatose justice, a renegade Speaker of the House, and the chief justice has a fit of integrity. I wish he would go public and oppose impeachment. We need someone to stop this.”
    â€œInstead we’re going to be subjected to the Gerry Jimmerson show, with Andy Stanton leading his army on the Capitol, followed by a show trial in the Senate,” Battaglia muttered.
    Long rolled his eyes. “I tried to charm Jimmerson, but he’s a maniac.” He sighed. “He thinks if he impeaches Franklin the conservatives will turn out and vote Republican next year. I told him I couldn’t back him but I’d stay out of it, which I viewed as doing him a favor, but he wasn’t really pacified.”
    â€œHe’s willing to tear the country apart for his own partisan gain,” said Battaglia, his tone of voice disgusted. “It’s pathetic.”
    â€œOh, well, thanks for the update. Keep me