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Presidents are frequently disappointed by their Supreme Court nominations. For one thing, they seldom get to appoint whoever they like, being limited to those who have a chance to be confirmed. That can be a tricky calculation.

Harry Truman was asked what his biggest mistake was. Recall that he served ~90 days less than two full terms, and when considering his worst mistake had a great many to pick from. He said it was nominating Tom Clark to the Supreme Court. It would violate this Forums rules to give his reason for picking that one, but you can look it up.

There has been a cabal of liberal Senators who will stop at nothing to prevent the confirmation of anyone to the Federal bench, Supreme Court, Appeals or District, who has ever, in thought, word or deed, evinced the slightest inclination to even consider a change in the present law on abortion. El Diablo named several dozen very well qualified lawyers and judges to Federal judgeships, of whom only a handful ever got a vote, let alone confirmed.

Correct JALLEN...I also believe that Roberts was one of the most conservative SCOTUS nominees that Bush could get through the democratically controlled senate at the time.

Getting a Clarence Thomas on the court was a fight and the liberal media did all they could to block it. In the end, the democratic senate couldn't hold the party line (11 dems voted republican) and Thomas was confirmed. Had he not been a black-replacing another black (Marshall)-it likely would not have happened.

I believe that the GOP has got to win the presidency this time around or that balance of power on the SCOTUS will be much in danger. You have Ginsburg who may get out prior to Obama leaving (but may not with a republican senate now)...and 3 others in their 80's by the time the next president takes office. If one or two of those liberal judges were to pass between November 2016 to 2020, it could have a big impact on the future of the court.

4 of them are older than me, well into their 70's and Justice Ginsburg is going to be 80. It is a near certainty that the next President will have at least one and very likely several replacements to name. With a Republican majority in the Senate, the nominees will have to be a bit more ahh, errr, uhhh, dignified than would be the case if a liberal President was naming people to be confirmed by a liberal Senate. If there is a truly conservative President and Senate, the nominees will reflect that happy circumstance. Of course, the chance of disappoint remains.

You have to go way back, maybe to Truman, to find a Supreme Court nominee that disappointed a Democrat President. However in the last 60 years, there have been a bunch that disappointed Republican Presidents. This is one of those things that in politics today only go one way.