The Rehnquist Choice : The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment that Redefined the Supreme Court

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Summary: An Insider's Look at the Bungling Behind a Historic Choice
Review: During his first presidential term, Richard Nixon had the unusual opportunity to appoint four justices to the supreme court. This book tells the inside story of how the nominees were selected, focusing almost entirely on the selection of the latter two: Lewis Powell, a prominent Virginia attorney, and William Rehnquist, then the Assistant Attorney General to John Mitchell. Not counting the book's introduction and afterword, its main story covers just 35 days in the fall of 1971.

The book begins by telling how Nixon virtually created the first two vacancies. Essentially, Nixon encouraged Senate republicans to fillibuster the elevation of Abe Fortas to the Chief Justice position. Once in office, Nixon's men then staged a PR campaign to discredit Fortas, causing him to announce his retirement. Ironically, the legal precedent for investigating Fortas' business dealings was based on a memo written by Rehnquist.

If anyone should be entitled to write this story, it is John Dean. At the time, Dean was Council to the President, and it was he that first brought up Rehnquist's name, mostly as a fanciful suggestion. He recounts his experiences vetting candidates and some of his conversations as reconstructed from notes and memory. Primarily, however, the book is based on Nixon's tape recorded conversations in the oval office. Dean has done a good job editing these transcripts so as to maintain sufficient context without dragging them out too long.

What emerges in these conversations is a series of bungled operations and imprudent decisions. Before Lewis and Rehnquist were finally selected in the final two days before their names were announced, the administration actually selected four other candidates. Two were rejected by the Senate, and the other two (including a woman) were deemed unqualified by the ABA (although from the sounds of it, the female candidate, Mildred Lillie, was fairly qualified but discriminated against by the all-male panel). John Mitchell and his assistant Rehnquist did an abysmal job vetting candidates, so much so that Dean and another lawyer were sent by John Ehrlichman to independently interview the candidates in more depth. And Nixon himself seemed to base his choices on hearsay and surface biographical snippets, like the candidates' class rank or the school they graduated from. He paid very little attention to the candidates' actual writings or opinions.

One of the incidental but nevertheless shocking revelations in the book is the deep extent of Nixon's sexism. Recent tapes have revealed his racism and anti-semitism, but his low opinion of women is repeated time and again in the transcripts. For example he is quoted as saying "I don't even think women should be educated!" and "I don't think a woman should be in any government job whatever."

In the book's afterword, Dean makes a compelling case that Rehnquist lied under oath during his confirmation hearings, both when he was initially confirmed in 1971, and then again in 1986 when Reagan nominated him to Chief Justice. At issue were Rehnquist's activities in Arizona during the 1960's preventing minorities from voting, and a controversial memo he wrote while clerking for Justice Robert Jackson in which he urged Jackson to vote to maintain segregated schools in the historic "Brown vs. Board of Education" case. Dean argues that if Rehnquist had been better vetted and prepared for his initial confirmation hearings, he would have had ready answers to these questions. Instead, he was caught off guard and ended up lying in 1971, and then lying again in 1986 to maintain the original lies.

Due to Rehnquist's dishonesty and the profound effect of his rulings on the high court, Dean openly regrets ever having suggested Rehnquist's name to Nixon staffers. Although this fascinating book is about far more than just Nixon's selection of Rehnquist, clearly that selection was the most important from a historical perspective. In a sense, this book is Dean's act of repentance for his role in the Rehnquist choice.

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Summary: Worth it...
Review: Even in politics the credit for mediocre decisions are fought over. Is it just me or does John Dean want to write himself into every important or at least not illegal decision that was made in the Nixon White House? With that being said this book does give the reader an interesting view into the process the President goes through in selecting a Supreme Court Justice. I have to imagine that this process has not changed much in the past 25 years. If you have also read some books on the Nixon administration it is interesting to get his view of the people and the relationships. The author also gets a lot of criticism from his former co-workers in he White House every time he puts out a book so that says to me that he is either telling something they do not want told or he is just hated. If you are a political junky then this is an interesting book to read.

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Summary: Nixonology at its Best
Review: Every time I think about John Dean sitting in the National Archives listening to his own voice on the presidential tapes, I think how surreal that must have been for the other researchers at the adjacent study carrels. How odd for a man to be able to hear his own voice, 29 years later, occasionally exclaiming: "I said that?" This is a wonderful look at Nixon with some of the funniest anecdotes you'll every come across. John Dean has a real ear for irony and a smooth writing style that will surprise people who know he is a lawyer but didn't come across his talent in the excellent Blind Ambition. There are a couple of points worth making. One is that even though President Nixon weighed political considerations for every move he mad, he seemed to genuinely relish the opportunity to appoint a qualified person from the top of his class at Stanford. If there is a disconnect in this book, it is that Dean makes Rehnquist out to be a much worse person than he is. The Chief Justice is not a bad man and Dean need not feel so guilty about being the first person to raise his name. Skip the moralizing at the end of the book and concentrate on a true story of how a justice was picked and you will laugh until you cry. Some might say it makes them cry, it shouldn't . Its just politics.

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Summary: Perfect for Supreme Court Junkies
Review: If you love reading about the Supreme Court and the story behind the Justices and how they got there, then this book is perfect. John Dean was in the Nixon White House when Tricky Dick was looking to make two Court appointments at the same time. The first appointment, Lewis Powell, wasn't too hard. He was a distinguished lawyer. But what about the other appointment? Nixon couldn't find anyone suitable for the position. His choices were either not qualified or didn't want the position. As a last resort, he picked an obscure White House lawyer who went on the change the face of constitutional law, William Rehnquist.

John Dean explains how Rehnquist was chosen and quotes Nixon saying some very unsavory things about women as well as other intemporate comments. This was the real Nixon -- a foul mouthed political animal who placed ideology over everything else. The book also talks about Rehnquist's unsavory past, including a memo he wrote as a Supreme Court clerk in 1954, when the Court decided Brown v. Board of Education, the seminal ruling outlawing separate but equal schools. The future Supreme Court Justice proposed affirming Plessy v. Ferguson, which affirmed racial distinctions in schooling. John Dean talks about this controversial memo and takes apart Rehnquist's position that it did not reflect his views.

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Summary: An Excellent Choice-- You Be the Judge!
Review: John Dean has written an insider's book that chronicles President Richard Nixon's appointment of William Rehnquist to the United States Supreme Court. It was without doubt a Presidency filled with history, and the appointment of William Rehnquist to the Supreme Court is an often forgotten part of that Presidency. The book is well researched and throughly documented with first hand material from the National Archives, including several verbatim passages transcribed from the infamous White House tapes that otherwise doomed the Nixon Presidency.

Dean brings us inside the "vetting" process used by the White House staff and Justice Department to select nominees to the Court. Dean floated the name of Rehnquist to several in the administration, including then Attorney General John Mitchell, as a possible conservative candidate for the Court as Dean had worked with Rehnquist in the Justice Department and learned of the Rehnquist's strict constructionist interpretation of the constitution. What was fascinating was that Rehnquist while toiling away at the Justice Department was tasked with "vetting' the other possible Court nominees chosen by the White House. Sounds much like the recent scenario of the selection of Dick Cheney as Vice President.

The book details the other nominees Rehnquist beat out for the coveted position. If anyone believes that politics plays no part in the selection of the members of the Court, then this is required reading. At times humorous and at times self-serving, this book is well worth the purchase. If you are not a Court watcher don't worry, you don't have to be to appreciate this book. Dean is a good writer and the text flows easily. Add "The Rehnquist Choice" to your summer reading list - you will gain an appreciation of the importance of Presidential nominations to the Court.

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Summary: Politics, Happenstance, and William Rehnquist
Review: Only in the last couple of years have all the tapes of Nixon's many conversations as President in the White House been released. The tragedy of Richard Nixon is that every time someone wants to think well of him, tapes or something else surfaces that shows his real unpleasant, dark, and unsavory character.

John Dean waited for the release of these tapes and along with his personal recollections during the time period has written a book that deals with the selection of Rehnquist and Lewis Powell as United States Supreme Court Justices. Its not pleasant reading for those naive enough to believe that Presidents seek out the most qualified people for appointments. Rather, the book exposes the process used by President Nixon to select two supreme court justices as frought with politics, bigotry, and regionalism. Nixon's bigotry about Jews, prejudice against easterners, and nasty language make this a book that someone who is very sensitive should not read.

The real shocker here is that before picking Powell who was a superbly qualified justice, Nixon first selected two candidates who could not even win acceptance as "qualified" for the Supreme Court by the American Bar Association Committee on the Federal Judiciary. Nixon stubbornly tried to get these individuals appointed until it became absolutely clear it was hopeless. Only at this point, did a real candidate like Powell get nominated. Nixon further abused the process by sending names to the ABA of other people he knew would never win approval.

Rehnquist had good paper qualifications to sit on the Supreme Court. However, it was known early on he was extremely conservative. He may have lied about statements he allegedly made expressing approval of racial segregation in schools. Dean presents the case for this. Its up to the reader to judge.

In the end, we are left gasping at the twisted and bizarre process which put Rehnquist on the Supreme Court. Even those who support Rehnquist and other conservative justices should wish for a better process to select judges. Hopefully, one day we shall see such a process and never see another President like Nixon again.

Mark

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Summary: A COURAGEOUS ACT: A MUST READ FOR DEMOCRACY
Review: THE TRAVESTY THAT SITS ATOP THE SUPREME LAW OFTHE LAND IS NOW REVEALED FOR THE TRAVESTY THAT BROUGHT HIM THERE. (...). THIS BOOK SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING IN EVERY DEMOCRACY CLASS IN US HIGH SCHOOLS. JOHN DEAN (AND HIS WIFE) SHOULD BE GIVEN A NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR. THIS BOOK, ALONG WITH THEIR OTHER WORK, SHOWS WHAT "IT" IS REALLY ABOUT, ACCESSIBLE TO THE AVERAGE GOOD-THINKING, USUALLY GULLIBLE AMERICAN. AND IT MAKES ONE PLEASED THAT, AFTER THE DECADES OF HOOVER HORRORS AND REPUBLICAN PANDERING, DEMAGOGUERY, AND PANIC-INSTILLING-SNOWBALLING DESTRUCTION OF POLITICIANS THEY CAN'T BUY, CLINTON STOOD HIS GROUND AGAINST THAT ABSURD IMPEACHMENT CHARADE. AT WHICH, DON'T FORGET, REHNQUIST PRESIDED IN HIS MEDIEVAL ROBES, WAITING FOR SOME INQUISITION-LIKE OBSCURE NOTE TO POUNCE ON TO SECURE HIS WISH. THANK GOD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WERE GOOD JUDGES OF HUMAN NATURE. ANYONE WHO THINKS REHNQUIST HARMLESS, HAD BETTER LOOK INTO HIS RECORD A LITTLE MORE CLOSELY, AND ASK, DOES THIS MAN REALLY REPRESENT WHAT AMERICA EITHER WAS INTENDED TO BE ABOUT BY THE FOUNDERS, OR WANTED BY OUR PEOPLE. THE ABSURDITY OF SUCH AN EXTREMIST PARADING UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE TOP PERMANENT OFFICE OF THE NATION AND THE PERFIDY BY WHICH HE ATTAINED IT IS NIXON'S ULTIMATE REVENGE. AND HELPLESS THOUGH WE MAY BE, WE OWE DEAN A GREAT DEBT FOR CLARIFYING THE PICTURE.

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Summary: Good Read by Dubious Writer
Review: Unfortunately I've come to notice that people tend to react to reviews on the Nixon Administration based on ideological positions instead of the actual review of the book. What I think of Richard Nixon and my political are irrelevant, what you need to know is what I think of this book.

Given that preamble, I would warn you to avoid this book if you are hoping to read a scholarly analysis of how William Rhenquist was appointed to the Supreme Court. What John Dean provides in this book is a well-written anecdotal review of Richard Nixon's Supreme Court selection process. What becomes obvious in reading the book is that Dean was pretty much out of the loop of the day-to-day operation of the White House. While he would like you to think that he played an important role in Rhenquist's selection, he exaggerates his contributions. More importantly, he offers very little personal insight to the history of the times (because he was out of the loop). This book is merely and attempt of Dean trying to cash in on his White House years. He's a gifted writer which makes the book easy to read, but he's also a lazy journalist.

What you get is a skillful retelling of what was recorded on the infamous White House tapes. It's interesting reading and will keep your attention, but much of the information has been told in other books. Haldeman's book is much more informative as is Anthony Summer's trashy and sensationalist expose.

As for the Rhenquist appointment, Dean implies criticism of Nixon for being so political, but that's a criticism that can be leveled at many presidents too. Given Dean's comparitively low standing in the White House, he doesn't have the needed perspective to evaluate Nixon's actions.

Finally, it's very hard to have much respect for Dean on any level. If you're a conservative you can loathe him for his disloyalty to Nixon. If you're a liberal you can hate him because he was part of the administration. What everyone can agree on is that he a shameless self-promoter whose impact on history will be much less profound than he realizes. The real heroes and villans of the Nixon era (depending on your political views) filled important roles and positions in the adminstration and shaped a history that continues to affect our nation. Dean was merely a bit player who now has the skill to recount events that happened that he barely affected.

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Summary: Wonderful subject; flawed author
Review: With the recent debacles that seem to have dominated recent American political history, the general public has finally become aware of the importance of the U.S. Supreme Court. As opposed to the U.S. Congress or the President, members of the court are appointed for life. They do not have to face reelection nor do they have a set date for retirement. In short, there's probably no presidential appointment that carries more importance than who the president names (and the Senate confirms) to the Supreme Court. One bad nomination (as history has shown time and again) can have a deterimental effect on U.S. policy for decades to come. However, despite its power, the Court has always had a somewhat stuffy, unsexy image. It usually doesn't make for fun reading and for too long, the process that goes into selecting the men and women who populate our highest court has been ignored. For this reason alone, John Dean's The Rehnquist Choice is a long overdue book.

At the title implies, the Rehnquist Choice follows the long course of strategizing that led to the appointment, by Richard Nixon, of William Rehnquist. With his recent prominence following both the impeachment trials and the election debacle, its easy to forget that Rehnquist was seemingly plucked from obscurity. In one of the book's more amusing revelations, we discover that Nixon himself was often unsure of the correct pronunciation of the man he appointed to the highest court in the land. Dean, who was an aide to Nixon, was one of the few members of the administration to lobby for the appointment of Rehnquist and, as he opaquely acknowledges, his lobbying was more of a case of his own need to display power than anything else. Nixon, meanwhile, is shown as he considers a wide range of surprising names before settling on Rehnquist. Indeed, part of the book's fun comes from imagining the possibilities of some of the men that Nixon considered. Nixon, as always a fascinating character who comes across as half-genius and half-child, is especially entertaining as he seriously speculates on naming U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, a former Klan members who has never actually practiced law, just to annoy Democrats in Congress. Its an interesting inside look and also a sad look at how political concerns trivialize the entire appointment and confirmation process. There's something definitely disturbing about how one of the most powerful men in the country got his job mostly because of the petty egos of Nixon and the members of his dysfunctional staff.

If there is a problem with this insightful record, it is with the author himself. After working in obscurity, Dean came to prominence as one of the youngest (and the quickest to betray his boss) of the president's men. Ever since the Watergate ordeal, Dean's been trying to justify his place and role in the Nixon administration. Basically, in this book and others, Dean's overriding theme seems to be "Everyone in the Nixon White House was bad except for me." Unfortunately, especially towards the end of the book, Dean seems to sacrifice the book's insider details in order to make himself look better. Too much of the book is full of him assuring us that he feels very guilty for having engineered the appointment and confirmation of the man who, in the eyes of many, elected a Republican to the White House in 2000. Regardless of your politics, its hard not to wish that Dean would stop promoting his own sainthood and instead concentrate on the insider details that makes the rest of this book such a wonderful document.