The Commander
Decision under pressure, front of house, leads visibly from the front.
Justice Anthony Kennedy reads as The Commander because he held the decisive seat on a closely divided Supreme Court for decades and wielded it with authority. His majority opinions in landmark cases, including those defining liberty and equal protection, were convictions rendered as judgement rather than cautious compromises.
“Yes, we first met before he was running for governor at some event in San Francisco and had some friends who were mutual friends that we began to talk. I said there's a few things you should never ask. I said, one is about politics.”
“The courts always hurt, it seems to me, if we look political. One of my concerns, my present day concerns is there's too much partisanship. Presidents appoint justices from their same party, but the partisanship should not be an overriding factor.”
“They should no more precisely how collegial it really is. We know that if you and I are just together, we know we would disagree. We're supposed to disagree. That's our job. But the question is how we disagree. The interaction on the court is much more fascinating than most people know.”
“You want the views of your other colleagues To indicate that you're going in the right direction or the wrong direction. And there's a lot of interchange in the memo is that way, and that's how we, when they try to put a majority together.”
The David Rubenstein Show: “Justice Anthony Kennedy”
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