There were plenty of conservatives on the bench for elder Bush to choose from. J. Harvey Wilkinson would have been a good choice. Bush likely knew what he was getting with Souter. The absence of a record assured Republican support for a moderate to liberal appointee. Note that when Bush the son tried the same thing with Harriet Myers the conservatives stood up. Fool me once shame on me, fool me twice . . .
Bush 41 had no idea Souter was a liberal. Old man Sununu should have known better, but Sununu & 41 were lazy; I’ll give you that. I’m not trying to cover for Old man Sununu cause he was a PIA back in the day, the guy had a huge ego, but Rudman played him. Souter was CJ of the NHSC. There was every indication that Souter was a conservative. Years after the fact Rudman laughed about how he tricked 41 & Sununu & put Souter on the court. I was working for the republican party at this time in the northeast & I was around all these players. Sununu should get a kick in the ass for this situation, but I hate that Rudman often gets off without any blame when it was him who set this mess up.