WisPolitics Budget Blog

As predicted here, hard news was made late Friday, although not the scandal kind.

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement just as newspapers were putting their editions to bed for the long holiday weekend. Oh sure, a few AP reporters were forced to work the weekend so daily newspapers could pull from the wire service and provide some news on President Bush's first Supreme Court vacancy. But mostly, it was the cable news shows that covered the announcement; yet another example of why newspaper circulation continues to decline.

Don't think for a moment that the timing of Justice O'Connor's announcement was her own doing. White House counsel, led by Karl Rove, orchestrated the entire affair.

By waiting to release the retirement news until late Friday of a holiday weekend, the coverage by cable news served as a national focus group of sorts. MSNBC, Fox News, CNBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, each raised the profile of potential judicial nominees within hours of O'Connor's retirement.

Soon after, the dozens of special interest groups who will battle the nomination, either in favor or in opposition, began their campaigns. Pro-lifers and pro-choicers, Move-on.org, property rights and civil liberty groups, minority and gender groups, faith-based and gay rights organizations, and partisan groups each sent their talking heads on the cable shows to serve as a vetting machine for Presidential nomination and U.S. Senate confirmation.

I am not suggesting that George Bush is pulling a Bill Clinton; measuring public opinion to insure that the President lands on the so-called winning side. However, no one inside the White House was ignoring what was being said on cable this past weekend.

Yet, this weekend's news coverage served to spark Americans into a national dialogue. And subsequently, both Houses of Congress will be told to support of oppose the eventual nominee.

The essence of Democracy was on display this weekend. It was so appropriate that the 4th of July marked this occasion of a Supreme Court vacancy.