Jim Bunning Apologizes to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Senator Jim Bunning, Republican of Kentucky, was forced to issue an apology for predicting that Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would be dead within the year. Justice Ginsburg recently underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer.

Senator Jim Bunning made the prediction at a private fund raiser attended by a hundred people on Saturday. Senator Jim Bunning was suggesting that the impending death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would leave open a Supreme Court seat, which would be filled by President Barack Obama, pending advice and consent of the Senate. The possibility of a Supreme Court nomination fight is very real, depending on whom President Barack Obama picks.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and is considered part of the liberal wing of the court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was treated for colorectal cancer in 1999, including surgery and eight months of chemotherapy. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January, 2009, and underwent surgery on February 5^th. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is out of the hospital and back at the Supreme Court.

Pancreatic cancer is considered a very virulent form of cancer with a high mortality rate. However doctors are optimistic about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's prospects due to the fact that the cancer was caught early. Ruth Bader Ginsburg is currently seventy five years old.

In any case Senator Jim Bunning committed a serious gaffe by speculating on the death of another public figure. It is considered bad form to talk about someone's death while there are still alive. It is doubly bad form to speculate on what the political ramifications of a person's death would be while they are still alive.

Senator Jim Bunning, who has been in office for two terms, is up for reelection in 2010. Despite the prospect that 2010 will be a favorable year for Republicans, Senator Jim Bunning is considered to be the most in jeopardy of losing his seat of the Republican Senate Caucus. Jim Bunning is not considered a very effective Senator, having been named as one of the "five worst" by Time Magazine. Senator Jim Bunning had been slow in raising campaign funds as well.

The Ruth Bader Ginsburg gaffe is certainly not helpful for Senator Jim Bunning's prospects of being elected to a third term. One of the cardinal rules of politics is that one rarely gets into trouble about what one does not say. Even so, as a former major league baseball pitcher, Jim Bunning has likely been in holes before and has dug himself out. He might be able to do so again, especially if 2010 is a Republican year.

Source: Bunning Apologizes for Predictions of Justice Ginsburg's Early Demise, Fox News, February 23rd, 2009