Today in Presidential History: John Paul Stevens Edition

November 28, 1975: Ford nominated John Paul Stevens to SCOTUS. In December he lauded the process that led to Stevens’ nomination:

Let me talk about personnel for just a moment. I think we have put together a very good team, both in the White House and in the Administration. And probably one of the best examples of the quality is the nomination of John Paul Stevens to the Supreme Court. I can’t positively say that his nomination and confirmation was a record, but it is pretty close to it. We did a good job in checking all of the potentials, and the net result was in a very, very short period of time we ended up with a man who was confirmed 98 to nothing. That is a pretty good batting average by any criteria. I am certain he will do a superb job as a member of the Court.

(NB: Sunstein on Stevens’ relative ideological position on the Court.)