The modern trend is to pooh-pooh the Thomas hearings as a leftist witch-hunt against a (sniff) repub appointee.  One cannot say that there is not an element of truth to this.  But one cannot dismiss the inquiries either- Thomas has a lot of smoke but no fire on this issue.  There have been whispers (for years) concerning his behavior and his paranoid personality have been the topics of many a conversation in Washington as well as the subject of books that paint a picture of a man who has been fighting a battle against being called a token- but for a reason that people don't want to talk about: Not many people in the beltway believe Thomas' protestations.  Sad truth is that history will indeed remember him as the anti-Thurogood Marshall- and that's a bitch but Thomas should start looking in the mirror before writing tell-alls about blaming everyone else.

No token there. I watched the confirmation. When he came back and hit the "progressives" with the high tech lynching comment, I almost fell off the sofa I was laughing so hard. You should have seen all the leftos squirm as their sphincters puckered. Then they all ran for the exit. This was one of the better pieces of political theater in HISTORY!

  No token;I like the way he handled himself at what he referred to as a "high-tech lynching".Regarding "the lynchers"..sorry to hear about Ted Kennedy's tumor,but aside from that...anyway,regarding his accuser law professor Anita Hill...I would've expected more from Bugsy Siegel's ex,Virginia Hill..I mean it was painful to listen to the felony's they tried to hang on the guy..possesion of Playboy and a porn film..

This listing sure shows confidence in his ablilities, doesn't it?

I find it difficult to rate Clarence Thomas for the purposes of this list. First, Thomas was clearly considered and subsequently appointed to replace Thurgood Marshall due to his race; however, an African-American would have most likely been nominated by any administration whether Democrat or Republican. Second, though some seem to hold a contrary opinion, a conservative Afro-American does not equate to being a token. I find it unfortunate that we feel the need to categorize and pigeon hole people, resulting in the "black seat" (for instance) and often the moderately qualified (which appeared to be the case of Thomas, at least during the confirmation process). To his credit, Thomas has exceeded the expectations of most and has been increasingly vocal of his own positions (whether one agrees or not). Clarence Thomas was born June 23, 1948 in Pin Point, Georgia.

Is every successful minority a token? Or are they just successful people in an obvious hostile, jealous, racist world?

The exact opposite of Thurgood Marshall. He was appointed simply to fill what is now considered the black seat on the court.. and to trump the liberals by naming a conservative to what would normally be perceived as a liberal seat. An average constitutional scholar at best.. and barely qualified to be there. Defines the word token.