Justice Anthony Kennedy, known as the man at the center of the U.S. Supreme Court, could not have chosen a more appropriate moment to retire.
Kennedy had stood at the center of the court, with four colleagues predictably to his left and four predictably to his right. Sometimes he sided with one foursome; sometimes, with the other. His vote was the deciding one so often that other members of the court had joked, with minimal mirth, that they might as well stay home.
But today, it is increasingly difficult to find, or even imagine, a true center on the high court — or in our national politics generally.
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