Who's at the top of the list? [sees Bartlet's hesitation] If I leaked it, would they believe me?
Brad Shelton.
[hesitant] Really.
You don't like him?
He's a fine jurist. And in the event that Carmine, Lafayette, Hoyt, Clark, and Brannagan all dropped dead, the middle would still be well tended.
[Chuckling] You want another Brady.
Sure. Just like you'd like another Ashland, who wouldn't? The court was at it's best when Brady was fighting Ashland.
Plenty of good law written by the voices of moderation.
Who writes the extraordinary dissent? The one man minority decision whose time hasn't come but 20 years later, some circuit court clerk digs it up at 3 in the morning. Brennan rallying against censorship, Harlans jeremiad on Jim Crow.
Maybe you someday.
Hm. They can't put me on The Court. Just like you can't put Evelyn Lang on The Court. It's Sheltons from here on in.
There are 4000 protesters outside this building, worried about who is going to land in that seat. We can't afford to alienate all of them.
We all have our roles to play, Sir. Yours is to nominate someone who doesn't alienate people.
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