Dear Sandra Day O’Connor:
I was so impressed to hear you are a member of the Iraq Study Group! After 25 years sitting on the Supreme Court, you could have retired quietly to Arizona. But no, when your country calls - or at least when Jim Baker calls – you are willing to drop what you are doing and devote yourself to a noble cause. And what better cause than to solve this terrible problem in Iraq.
The Brits have a phrase for selfless public servants like you – “the good and the great.” That’s what you are, you know. You are a good and great person, as are all the other members of the Iraq Study Group, since they were once senators, secretaries of state, representatives and high public officials just like yourself. Good and great people. Of course, you are the only woman among them, but you are used to that, aren’t you? Maybe it crossed your mind just a teensy bit that they invited you precisely because you are a women – but that can’t be it. They obviously wanted you for your many years of experience in foreign affairs.
And what wonderfully erudite and learned discussions you must be having with your colleagues on the Iraq Study Group! You talk day by day with men who have vast knowledge of the Middle East and the various cultures of Iraq, men who are experts in war, and men who know all about diplomacy. Somebody, somewhere must have an answer to the problem in Iraq.
Maybe it could be you! Of the hundreds and hundreds of cases you heard in the Supreme Court, maybe there is a precedent set or a writ of certiorari filed or a appellate court judgment overturned that might provide you an answer. Which case could it be? Maybe it’s even one you regret, one in which you would vote the other way if you had a chance. After all, for so many years you were the Swing Vote on the court – you ultimately decided things.
Were these the questions that went through your mind when the Iraq Study Group visited Iraq? How exciting it must have been to wear a flak jacket and corkscrew into the Baghdad Airport, and then meet the ambassador and all those generals in the Green Zone! Of course, you couldn’t actually visit Baghdad, much less walk along the streets and talk to anybody at random. It’s just a bit dangerous now, and good and great people don’t do that sort of thing anyway. But the Iraq Study Group certainly can’t issue a report solving the problems of Iraq if the members haven’t actually been there.
And then there was the meeting with President Bush a few weeks ago. Not that presidents impress you like they might impress ordinary people. You’ve seen President Bush up close dozens of times. You remember his State of the Union speeches, especially that one about the Axis of Evil. Was that the first time you realized he was serious about invading Iraq?
He looked different a few weeks ago, didn’t he? A little subdued, somewhat tired, with none of the enthusiasm he had before the war. Things didn’t work out as he expected, did they? No one can really tell how a war will turn out; that’s what the other experts on the Iraq Study Group are saying about war. Nobody could have predicted things would be this bad.
That’s not what you should be concentrating on. That’s just negative thinking. Your job on the Iraq Study Group is to come up with solutions. So once again you are brought back to a quarter century of experience on the Supreme Court. Which one case will help you? Is it a famous one, one for which you will be remembered?
Somewhere in the back of your mind, do you sometimes think that after all that time on the Supreme Court, the only case people will remember you for is Bush v. Gore? You don’t want to think about that case, I’m sure. More negative thinking. Besides, what could you do? The time pressures were immense. When before has the Supreme Court ever issued a ruling in 16 hours? You are used to careful, reasoned discussion – back and forth memos with your colleagues – but this case was a national emergency.
And really, nobody knows what it’s like when Scalia starts pounding away – he sounds so logical and well-reasoned. And he must have been serious about this one. After all that talk about strict interpretation of the Constitution, and respect for state court rulings, here’s Anthony Scalia suddenly arguing to overturn a ruling of the Florida Supreme Court! And poor Bill Rehnquist, obviously sick, doing his best to support Scalia and Thomas. You felt so sorry for him.
Maybe the right thing would have been to allow the 60,000 undervotes to be counted, just as the Florida Supreme Court wanted. There were still four days left until the Electoral College voted. But Scalia and Thomas and Rehnquist said there just wasn’t enough time. And when Anthony Kennedy joined them, it was clear where the decision was going. You had to stop the voting then and there. It was just a matter of chance that George Bush was ahead in the balloting. It could have been the other way. You weren’t really concerned about which candidate won.
Or were you? Can you really put aside a lifetime of public service as a Republican attorney general, state senator, appellate court judge? When all was said and done, better the Republican candidate and party you know than crazy Al Gore (everybody said he was crazy).
Who would have known that George Bush would turn out crazier? They say hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died in this war so far. Why just this week one report said six worshipers coming out of a mosque were doused with kerosene by a mob and set on fire. Horrible! If only someone could have told you this was going to happen when you were deciding Bush v. Gore.
When it comes right down to it, this is in your heart the only contribution you can make to the Iraq Study Group. Barry Goldwater always talked about following what was in your heart and always speaking the truth. The truth is, the contribution you could have best made to the Iraq Study Group was seven years ago, when you voted wrong on Bush v. Gore. If only you could have swung your vote the other way – all this terrible mess would never have happened. There would have been no need for the Iraq Study Group.
But I’m afraid you’ll keep these thoughts to yourself. That’s what good and great people do.