A Supreme Court Chief Justice Draws Closer

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist is apparently rapidly failing, according to this report in the New York Post — setting the scene for a massive battle within the sadly not-to-distant future over his seat on the court.

This doesn’t sound like someone who’s going to be on the court for another year or two:

January 14, 2005 — WASHINGTON — One of the most powerful men in America, cancer-stricken Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, looked very, very ill yesterday.

I say that because I unexpectedly came face to face with the 80-year-old, wheelchair-bound Rehnquist as his aides pushed him down an endless series of basement corridors in the Capitol.

The longtime chief justice hasn’t been seen in public in several months and it was clear to me why.

Rehnquist was hunched over in his wheelchair, an old hunting cap pulled down low over his ears to cover up his blotchy skin and near baldness, possibly the result of the aggressive treatment he’s getting for his thyroid cancer.

His eyes looked sunken and lifeless. A plastic collar was wrapped tightly around his neck, where his throat had been opened recently for a tracheotomy.

I tried to make eye contact and wanted to offer a word of encouragement. Our eyes never met.

Rehnquist, who has not been appearing at Supreme Court sessions this year, had arranged for a private view of the platform outside the Capitol, where on Thursday he’ll swear in President Bush to a second term.

At the Capitol yesterday, Rehnquist struggled to get out of his wheelchair for a view, as police kept onlookers back and people averted their eyes to spare him embarrassment.