Update 10/4/07 - National Review Online posted today an editorial lauding Thomas's work on the bench (citing a recent decision as an example) and concluded " He is one of the best justices — if not the best — on the Court." Update 10/5/07 - Mona Charen sets the record straight vis-a-vis biased, liberal commentators. So also Taranto. On the nature of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings Thomas faced at his confirmation, read here.
**
I had computer problems that erased a lengthy post I had written on Clarence Thomas. Instead of trying to recreate the post (I simply don't have the time), I'm going to repost Michelle Malkin's comments (immediately below), plus include a couple other items. From Michelle Malkin:
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas endured ad hominem attacks and character assassination attempts to an extent that few other public figures in American life have ever endured. His new book, “My Grandfather’s Son,” was released today. Finally, on this first Monday in October, he is getting the respectful hearing from the MSM he deserves.
From 60 Minutes. From Yahoo! News. From ABC News.
We know it can’t last. So, go buy the book and let’s not lose sight, as Eugene Volokh reminds us, of the vicious treatment Justice Thomas has received for daring to defy identity politics and racial groupthink. Liberal racism is as alive as ever.
Two greats together: Rush Limbaugh interviews Justice Thomas
** Kathryn Jean Lopez's describes Thomas's positive reaction to reading Thomas Sowell's Race and Economics. It resonated with conclusions he had come to himself.
** Kate O'Beirne was at dinner tonight with Clarence Thomas and 20 others. She reported that "The source of his equanimity is no mystery. Justice Thomas brought his favorite prayer, the
Litany of Humility, to our attention." It reads:
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.From the desire of being loved...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I
should…
Update 10/2/07 - Today the New York Times printed Anita Hill's response, which elicited Kathryn Jean Lopez 's comment:
Contrary to the impression you'll get from the world, he's actually fairly generous toward her in the book.
What's so infuriating is that the book is in part an attempt to fix the damage done — to his reputation, to the whole SCOTUS nomination process. But the New York Times won't let that go down without a fight.
One gets the impression Justice Thomas expected nothing else as his book was released, but it still infuriates.