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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (58619)	8/7/2004 9:30:50 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793955

Justice could be moving up Next chief of the Supreme Court might be Thomas, biographer says By ANNE GEARAN Associated Press WASHINGTON - Clarence Thomas has been interviewed by White House lawyers as a possible choice to be the next chief justice of the United States, says the author of a new biography. Thomas says he isn't interested but could find it hard to turn down an opportunity to be the first black man to lead the Supreme Court, said biographer Ken Foskett. Judging Thomas, out this week from William Morrow, traces Thomas' life from rough beginnings in rural Georgia, through Yale Law School to his life today. Thomas initially refused Foskett's request for interviews, but later spoke to the author both on and off the record. Thomas likes NASCAR and football, plays a fierce game of basketball and during the court's summer recess tours the nation in a 40-foot mobile home decorated with orange flames, Foskett wrote. Thomas is friendly and outgoing in person, though he almost never says a word during the court's oral arguments, Foskett said. "I think people would be surprised to know that Thomas knows everyone in the building by first name," Foskett said. Thomas is the youngest of the justices at 56 and could remain on the court for decades. Whether he is elevated to chief justice "all depends on Bush being re-elected," Foskett said. Thomas' promotion to the court's top job would also depend on the exit of his boss, 79-year-old Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Rehnquist is not expected to retire before the November presidential election, but might do so in a second Bush term. The White House has a short list of candidates for any Supreme Court vacancy, and presumably has interviewed several potential nominees to succeed Rehnquist. Nominating Thomas would guarantee a rancorous Senate confirmation battle and a reprise of lurid allegations of sexual harassment involving former employee Anita Hill. This article is: chron.com