Conservatives are blaming Sandra Day O’Connor for yesterday’s affirmative action ruling, and with justice. But don’t forget David Souter. Souter’s was put on the Court by the first president Bush, at the recommendation of John Sununu. Souter was supposed to be a conservative without a paper trail. He turned out to be one of the most reliably liberal voices on the Court. The Souter nomination is arguably the greatest setback conservatives have experienced in the past twenty years. We take his presence on the Court for granted now, but America would probably be a different, and significantly more conservative place if Souter’s position had been filled even by someone like O’Connor, let alone a strong conservative like Scalia. Let’s keep the Souter fiasco in mind as we approach retirements on the Court.