SUPREME BALANCE – AT 7:43 P.M.  ET:  Put away the Zoloft.  Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy of the United States Supreme Court announced today that he won't be stepping down any time soon.  That is an enormous relief.

Kennedy, who is almost 74, is the swing vote on the Court, but he usually goes conservative.  If he retired, Obama would have a third Supreme Court pick, almost certainly another strong liberal.  That would tilt the Court in the liberal direction, and probably lead the way to a sharp "reinterpretation" of our basic rights, including the individual right to bear arms, which four members of the current court do not accept.

Kennedy is needed.  Needed just as much is a Republican Senate, which could filibuster another Sotomayor or Kagan.  Sadly, some Republicans would probably vote to confirm almost any liberal as long as the candidate's records are in order.  But a GOP majority, supplemented by a few votes from moderate Dems, might be enough to block another doctrinaire liberal.

Most Americans don't realize how close we are to an Obama court, a court that could change the entire direction of American history to fit the leftist leanings of the man in the White House.

We hope Justice Kennedy can hand on until 2016.  Hey, he'd only be 80.  A young guy.  Come on, Judge, redecorate your office.

July 6, 2010