Believed in leaving power within the states and local government.

We will miss him. He was the voice of reason on the Supreme Court beyond partisan politics.

America, and the Supreme Court, will miss his calm, steady, predictable leadership of this enormously important government body and, in that, the current momentum of judicial thought. The loss of an intellect like his would be missed by any organization, but to lose it from the level of Chief Justice cannot help but have an enormous effect, both long-term and short-term. His passing, again, elevates Bush's presidency to one of an enormous importance for the happenstance of historical factors, i.e. 9/11/01 attack/ctastrophe (first attack on US mainland in 200 years), the Katrina aftermath, now the worst natural disaster in US history, appointment of a new Supreme Court Chief Justice along with at least one other Justice. Love him or hate him (and there don't seem to be too many absent from one camp or the other) his is a presidency of enormous long term precedent and effect, as rabid as that might make the Bush-haters. Announcing that John Roberts' nomination is now Rehnquist's replacement as Chief Justice is an enormous gamble on Bush's part, who shows either a shallow disregard for political risks or a brilliant courage for such events.

I was not impressed with him as a jurist and he served for too long.

William Rehnquist was one of the more influential people in the United States over the last 30 years, and served his country honorably. His death is not much of a shock, since his illness has been well documented, and his public appearances showed a fragile man. The Supreme Court will now undergo a large change, with 2 new Justices this year after many years of continuity on the bench.