Comments on: Chief Justice leaves Maine hospital http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/chief-justice-leaves-maine-hospital/ The Supreme Court of the United States blog Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:56:34 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Marc Shepherd http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/chief-justice-leaves-maine-hospital/comment-page-1/#comment-11768 Marc Shepherd Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:57:18 +0000 http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/uncategorized/chief-justice-leaves-maine-hospital/#comment-11768 In all fields, the concept of the "news cycle" and "what is news" has changed. A few weeks ago, President Bush had a routine medical procedure. He was placed under anesthetic, and Dick Cheney technically had presidential authority for a few hours. This had much broader news coverage than it would have received 20 or 30 years ago. To give a slightly more distant example, many Americans didn't even realize that Franklin Roosevelt was wheelchair-bound, whereas nowadays he probably couldn't get elected. The Chief Justice's seizure has nothing to do with "the counterrevolution which the addition of Roberts and Alito has wrought," but merely to the changed news cycle. In all fields, the concept of the “news cycle” and “what is news” has changed. A few weeks ago, President Bush had a routine medical procedure. He was placed under anesthetic, and Dick Cheney technically had presidential authority for a few hours. This had much broader news coverage than it would have received 20 or 30 years ago. To give a slightly more distant example, many Americans didn’t even realize that Franklin Roosevelt was wheelchair-bound, whereas nowadays he probably couldn’t get elected.

The Chief Justice’s seizure has nothing to do with “the counterrevolution which the addition of Roberts and Alito has wrought,” but merely to the changed news cycle.

]]> By: Roger Friedman http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/chief-justice-leaves-maine-hospital/comment-page-1/#comment-11767 Roger Friedman Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:20:10 +0000 http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/uncategorized/chief-justice-leaves-maine-hospital/#comment-11767 I had refrained from commenting on the clamor, but this morning's NY Times article and Linda Greenhouse's (literally) breathless commentary requires some tempering. Justice Douglas missed parts of several terms of court due to medical problems, including a nearly fatal fall from a horse, without attracting such attention. If my recollection is correct, there were other illnesses and recuperations on the post-WWII court. One reason the Justices stopped riding circuit was that so many of them were injured in travel. So it is not the fact of supreme judicial health problems which has spawned the news coverage, but a generally increased attention to the Supreme Court and the recognition of the counterrevolution which the addition of Roberts and Alito has wrought. I had refrained from commenting on the clamor, but this morning’s NY Times article and Linda Greenhouse’s (literally) breathless commentary requires some tempering. Justice Douglas missed parts of several terms of court due to medical problems, including a nearly fatal fall from a horse, without attracting such attention. If my recollection is correct, there were other illnesses and recuperations on the post-WWII court. One reason the Justices stopped riding circuit was that so many of them were injured in travel. So it is not the fact of supreme judicial health problems which has spawned the news coverage, but a generally increased attention to the Supreme Court and the recognition of the counterrevolution which the addition of Roberts and Alito has wrought.

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