Kaine may get 1 more court pick

With four months left in his term, Gov. Tim Kaine is not quite toast. His legacy will include big bursts of partisanship; bigger holes in the budget.

Another tile in the Kaine mosaic: the large number of appointments he's made to top courts -- two each to the Virginia Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, one to the State Corporation Commission.

And there's a chance, albeit remote, that Kaine will get one more to the Supreme Court before his next full-time gig in January as national Democratic chairman.

But it comes down to timing -- and Kaine's pick to succeed Justice Barbara Keenan, should she fast-track to the federal judiciary.

That person would have to be a compelling choice, professionally, personally and politically, because Kaine won't be here to press a presumably divided General Assembly to make permanent his temporary selection.

How about Kaine's consigliere, Mark Rubin? Or Bob McDonnell's, Bill Mims?

Both are old hands who, despite their pedigrees -- Rubin is a liberal Democrat; Mims, a conservative Republican -- have long records of working and playing well with others.

Rubin, a former lobbyist for the trial lawyers, has successfully handled tough assignments: a cable-competition deal between telecoms and cable firms; the turnover to the state of Gov. Jim Gilmore's papers.

Mims, who is completing McDonnell's term as attorney general while his ex-boss stands for governor, is a former lawmaker. His easy manner helped him to pursue a seemingly contradictory agenda -- against abortion, for controls on smoking -- without coming across as such.

Keenan was nominated Tuesday by President Barack Obama to the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. It's among the nation's most important federal appellate courts, handling many cases to which the U.S. government is party.

The court is a bulwark of conservatism. But with five vacancies -- and Democrats controlling the White House and the U.S. Senate -- that could change.

How quickly depends on the speed with which the Senate acts. That could shape events at the state Capitol.

Even if the Senate, bogged down with health care, votes soon on Keenan, Kaine would have maybe a month or two to pick a new justice.

And possibly the Supreme Court would quietly encourage it, telegraphing that its caseload is so weighty that calling in a retired justice to help is insufficient.

This entire scenario is somewhat far-fetched. But from intrigues spring possibilities. Like this one: naming McDonnell, now an out-of-work politician, to the Supreme Court.

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic nominee for governor, would be ineligible under the state constitution because he's currently a legislator.

A McDonnell appointment could be a conciliatory gesture to the GOP -- and get him out of the way for future campaigns.

But then, McDonnell isn't counting on losing in November.

Contact Jeff E. Schapiro at (804) 6496814 or . Watch his video column Thursdays on TimesDispatch.com. Follow him at twitter.com/RTDSchapiro. Listen to his analysis Fridays at 8:33 a.m. on WCVE (88.9 FM).