Of course, within hours of Justice John Paul Stevens' announcement he would retire the pundits were blabbering about both his legacy and who might replace him. Of course, most of the latter is based on little fact. President Obama has just gotten the word himself. But early media speculation says another woman may be likely.

What will be interesting, however, is how the news outlets -- the major cable channels especially -- handle the scrutiny of the would-be nominee, whoever he or she is. They clearly must dig into the person's background, past decisions, political leanings, etc.

The Washington Post is a good example of how to do it, already posting a short list of possible nominees, culled mostly from those considered during last year's Supreme Court replacement search.

But they also need to avoid being drawn into the partisan battle this will become. Some are already speculating the right could take the unprecedented position of trying a filibuster over a Supreme Court nominee, never before done.

Let's hope the cable outlets, including Fox, do the diligent background work, but avoid sparking the useless political badgering and name-calling that have become all too common lately