The writer is a senior U.S. district judge in Nebraska.
Late in the afternoon on Monday, nearly 14 months after I announced my intention to retire, the U.S. Senate finally confirmed John Gerrard as a U.S. district judge.
The depressing fact that it took more than 400 days to complete this "no-brainer" is not news. Everyone realizes that Congress has, for the most part, ground to a halt in spasms of bipartisan narcissism. But there are exceptions.
Two dedicated politicians — one a Democrat and the other a Republican — cooperated to see that Judge Gerrard was nominated and confirmed.
When they learned of my intention to retire, Sens. Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns had a choice to make. They could have treated the judicial vacancy like a political piņata. To their credit, they did not do so.
Rather, Sen. Nelson suggested to the White House a good and superbly qualified person to fill the vacancy after first consulting with Sen. Johanns. When approached by his colleague, Sen. Johanns conducted the required due diligence and then provided his active support.
What happened in the ensuing months — at the White House and in the Senate — would provide a fascinating series of newspaper articles. The behind-the-scenes teamwork of Sens. Nelson and Johanns also would illustrate politics at its best.
I hope Sens. Nelson and Johanns will sometime tell that tale. Their stories would be revealing.
For example, their efforts to overcome one southern senator's misguided and last-minute attempt to derail Judge Gerrard's confirmation would show why political professionals like Nelson and Johanns are a rare and precious commodity.
Indeed, candid descriptions of their work could serve as a template for those like me who wish to return to a time when the selection of federal judges was guided by seasoned politicians who understood that American politics, properly practiced, is an art form rather than a blood sport.
Sens. Nelson and Johanns are responsible for placing a wonderful person with magnificent credentials on the federal bench. In so doing, they have proven that "politics" need not be a dirty word. They also have distinguished themselves and the people of Nebraska.
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