Word: ascendant
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...expectations of the Presidents who pick them. Here it's customary to mention that Dwight Eisenhower, asked to name his biggest mistake in office, replied, "I made two, and they're both sitting on the Supreme Court"--implying that the court mysteriously reshapes the views of those who ascend to it. But that idea doesn't withstand scrutiny, says Harold Spaeth, a Michigan State professor who has spent 40 years demystifying the court. Ike's nominations of Earl Warren and William Brennan were political deals, designed to shore up his support in California and New Jersey and made without regard...
...chosen, Fineberg, Harvard's third provost, would be the first in that position to ascend to the University presidency...