[It] was not a surprise when the President called to talk about the
appointment and what he was thinking of doing.

President Clinton indicated he was leaning toward nominating Bruce
Babbitt, his Secretary of the Interior, a name that had been bouncing around in
the press. Bruce, a well-known western Democrat, had been the governor of
Arizona and a candidate for president in 1988. Although he had been a state
attorney general back during the 1970s, he was known far more for his activities
as a politician than as a jurist. Clinton asked for my reaction.

I told him that confirmation would not be easy. At least one Democrat would
probably vote against Bruce, and there would be a great deal of resistance from
the Republican side. I explained to the President that although he might prevail
in the end, he should consider whether he wanted a tough, political battle over
his first appointment to the Court.

Our conversation moved to other potential candidates. I asked whether he
had considered Judge Stephen Breyer of the First Circuit Court of Appeals or
Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
President Clinton indicated he had heard Breyer’s name but had not thought about
Judge Ginsburg.

I indicated I thought they would be confirmed easily. I knew them both
and believed that, while liberal, they were highly honest and capable jurists
and their confirmation would not embarrass the President. From my perspective,
they were far better than the other likely candidates from a liberal Democrat
administration.

In the end, the President did not select Secretary Babbitt. Instead, he
nominated Judge Ginsburg and Judge Breyer a year later, when Harry Blackmun
retired from the Court. Both were confirmed with relative ease.