According to Inter Alia, the blogosphere just got a whole lot smarter, since "Nobel-prize-winning economist Becker and federal circuit judge Posner have made their introductory post and will be blogging over here."
Why is this such an important development? As Tyler Cowen notes, "If Posner were a law school, his citation index would put him in or close to the top ten. And Becker just gave up his Business Week column a few months ago. He is also the most widely cited living economist, not to mention that Nobel Prize."
Richard Posner is one everyone's short list to get appointed as a Supreme Court justice. That may be wishful thinking. As we learned from the (non)confirmation hearings for Robert Bork back in 1987, the problem with being a prolific scholar is that by leaving such an enormous paper trail, it provides all the more ammunition that political opponents can fire at the prospective nominee. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of post-Bork nominees who have been confirmed to the bench (including Anthony Kennedy (1988), Clarence Thomas (1991), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1993), and Stephen Breyer (1994)) is their comparatively thin vitas.
Posted by Jim Garven at December 6, 2004 12:28 PM