Swing Vote?

So Sandra Day O'Conner, the so-called swing vote, is retiring, putting the fat in the fire. The president issued a measured, thoughtful statement, saying he was consulting the senate about possible nominees so the nation could have a debate that was civil about her successor. That would fill me with hope had he not made statements like this over and over, during both presidential campaigns, describing himself as one who unites rather than divides. And every time he has been faced with a choice, whether for the UN of the World Bank, he has chosen someone who causes the grinding of teeth of anyone to the left of Pol Pot.

Now we'll see whether the Democrats did buy a pig in a poke in the compromise that looked to me more like capitulation and face-saving. Basically they said they would let through a couple of Bush's most retro judicial appointments in return for the Senate Republicans not killing the filibuster with a parliamentary maneuver. But left open was the possibility that the Republicans would detonate this nuclear weapon anyway if the Democrats filibustered a nominee later.

Any bets?