That's what Thomas and his wife have been telling the White House, a close, longtime friend of Clarence Thomas insisted to HUMAN EVENTS last week, amid rumors that ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist will soon step down. Although conservatives would be ecstatic if President Bush nominated strict constitutionalist Thomas to succeed Rehnquist, Thomas's friend said: "Clarence and [wife] Virginia would just never put themselves through another confirmation battle again." They remember too well the brutal Democratic attempts at character assassination in 1991.
