Fever pitch

Today could be the day that one or more Supreme Court Justice announces his or her retirement. Speculation about whether this will, in fact, be that day is reaching a fever pitch in Washington, as is speculation about the identity of President Bush’s nominee in the event of a vacancy. Jan Crawford Greenberg of the Chicago Tribune speculates that the two finalists are Michael Luttig and John Roberts. That’s great news, if true. In any case, Greenberg’s portrait of the two — close friends for many years — is worth reading.