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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2001

President Nixon in 1971 seriously considered a woman for the Supreme Court, according to a new book.

But lest anyone think Nixon's desire to appoint a woman was to break the gender barrier, White House tapes cited in "The Rehnquist Choice: The Untold Story of the Nixon Appointment That Redefined the Supreme Court" show that Tricky Dick wasn't too exited about the prospect of a woman on the nation's highest court. He was looking to a woman to score political points, the tapes show.

In a conversation with his Attorney General John N. Mitchell, Nixon said: "I don't think a woman should be in any government job whatever. I mean, I really don't. The reason why I do is mainly because they are erratic. And emotional. Men are erratic and emotional, too, but the point is a woman is more likely to be."

He also told top aide, H. R. Haldeman: "I'm not for women in any job. I don't want any of them around. Thank God we don't have any in the cabinet."

The book says that two women being considered at the time -- Mildred Lillie, an appellate judge in California, and Herschel Friday, an Arkansas lawyer, were found unqualified. Nixon eventually settled on Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist.

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Book Says Nixon Considered a Woman for Supreme Court (The New York Times 9/27)
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