Judicial wars

Here's an excerpt from the NYT Magazine article "The Power of the Fourth" about the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals:

Clinton finally tried an end run around Helms by nominating a Virginian, a soft-spoken African-American lawyer named Roger L. Gregory….His nomination had bipartisan support. But even Gregory couldn't get a hearing scheduled.

So Clinton resorted to an extraordinary tactic. During his last days in office, after Congress had recessed, Clinton unilaterally appointed Gregory to the bench. President Bush, eager to demonstrate bipartisanship and win support for his own candidates, eventually allowed Gregory's temporary appointment to become permanent.

With regard to President Bush thinking he would get equitable treatment from the Democrats, I would quote Otter from "Animal House": "You f----- up, you trusted us!"