Like a lot of Supreme Court observers, I've just assumed that Obama would be nominating another Supreme Court justice in 2011, given Ruth Bader Ginsburg's severe recent health issues. Given the resilience she's demonstrated throughout her career, this was a foolish assumption, and Ginsburg has strongly signaled that she's not going anywhere for the time being.
Obviously, on one level this is good news -- it's wonderful to hear that Ginsburg is in better health, and her voice would certainly be missed from the Court. Her decision to stay does, however, immediately raise the stakes of the 2012 election: One likely outcome of a Republican victory would be John Roberts as the median vote on the Supreme Court. If that's not a motivating factor, I don't know what is.
