A Little Fantasy (4 consecutive terms with Dem president)

[phantom power]

Interesting point.

This is a just an exercise in fantasy. Imagine if America elects a Democrat as president in 2016 and then reelects them in 2020. Given the strength of the potential Democratic field of candidates and the weakness of the Republicans' potential field, I do not consider this an outlandish fantasy. It would create a 16-year uninterrupted period of Democratic control of the White House. The only comparable period of sustained one-party domination of the executive branch occurred between 1933 and 1953, as FDR and Truman won five straight elections. We know that that period totally transformed America, almost entirely for the better. We also know that the conservative opposition to the early New Deal largely exhausted itself during that period and finally turned to Dwight Eisenhower and moderation in order to win back power.

This may be what we will be facing. In this scenario, it is 1937, which was not a good year for Roosevelt. In any case, since we're fantasizing here, let's imagine that it is January 20th, 2023, the midpoint of our hypothetical president's second term. How old would the current members of the Supreme Court be?

Chief Justice John Roberts would be 66, but a week away from his 67th birthday.
Antonin Scalia would be 86.
Anthony Kennedy would be 86.
Clarence Thomas would be 74.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg would be 89.
Stephen Breyer would be 84.
Samuel Alito would be 72.
Sonia Sotomayor would be 68.
Elena Kagan would be 62.

Obviously, there is no guarantee that any of them would have retired by then. John Paul Stevens recently retired at the age of ninety. Justices Roberts, Thomas, and Alito will still be relatively young. Still, there is a good chance that the four Justices who would be in their mid-to-late eighties would have been replaced by 2023.

http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2013/1/28/21035/9995

[NYC_SKP]

1. I would take Obama for four terms over the risk of another Bush. Would prefer two more with Warren.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, that is.

Actually, four with her would be pretty transformative.

[phantom power]

2. It seems plausible enough to hope for

Predicting the future is a fool's game, but I can't at the moment see any reason a Dem win in 2016 is unlikely. The GOP has painted itself into a corner with its wingnut base. They can't win without them, but now it looks like they can't win with them either (and couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch of douchebags). Furthermore, demographic trends are all working against the Southern Strategy, again without which the GOP has absolutely no strategy for winning a national election.

[Gothmog]

3. I also would love for this dream to come true

It would also mean that the 5th Circuit would not be dominated by conservative nut cases

[Floridaphatman]

4. I like the way you think

Although I have a few issues with President Obama (the Big Banks, and not repealing the Patriot Act) I would love to see a Democrat president for the next two terms. Warren would be a great choice, so would Brian Schweitzer if you want a more Centerest theme.