Expect an all-out guerrilla war over the next four months over the replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

For all intents and purposes, new policy initiatives will be put on hold and items currently stuck within Congress will be stalled until a nominee takes the bench. All energy, interest and resources will be devoted to replacing the first female Justice of the Supreme Court, who has been the "vital center" of the court over the last several years.

On Tuesday, as President George W. Bush was preparing to leave for Scotland for the G-8 Economic Summit, the White House announced that he would be reviewing possible nominees for the high court en route, in preparation for naming someone in two weeks. More likely is that the White House will be working overtime to put together a short list of possible nominees and fully vet them prior to a presidential pick.

This is a vital part of the political process. A failure to uncover any controversial speech remarks or writings, questionable decisions and/or opinions or skeletons in a nominee's past will likely doom that person if uncovered prior to a vote by senators.

And if a nominee has any of the above baggage, be sure that it will come out. Past controversial fights over the likes of failed nominee Robert Bork and successful nominee Clarence Thomas, are going to be mild by comparison - especially in today's information age.

Hugh Hewitt, a guru of the new Internet phenomenon of blogging, makes it clear in his new book, "Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation that is Changing Your World," that whomever is nominated will get a second thorough vetting. Bloggers are the ones, he contends, who brought down former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott after his comments at Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party. And they exposed Dan Rather over false National Guard records and John Kerry about his claims of being in Cambodia in 1968.

Bloggers count three pelts on their belts and would be happy to add a fourth if the president and his staff don't fully review their selection.

The end result is that George W. Bush may have to follow in the steps of his father and find a "pure vanilla" type of nominee such as a David Souter, who had very little controversy around him. The problem is that more conservative elements of the president's supporters want someone to push their agenda and aren't going to be happy with someone they can't count on, such as a Justice Souter.

Expect that the White House will have a little leeway in picking someone who appeals to their base, if they can make sure that it is either another qualified woman or a Hispanic (two underrepresented groups on the Court), which would be difficult for senators to oppose.

Cosentino is a former mayor of Auburn and can be e-mailed atcozguytho@aol.com