But everybody knows he needs a liberal to stop the court from moving further to the right than it already has under John Roberts, the present chief justice, a man more stealth-bomber than aircraft-carrier, whose professions of judicial modesty during his own confirmation hearings in 2005 gave little inkling of the controversial decisions over which he has since presided.
The sprawling aerospace company forged from the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967 saw its carrier-based A-12 bomber canceled in January, and then lost the competition to build a successor to its signature F-15 fighter three months later.