Factionalism

This piece about Bush's cronyism is interesting. It notes the difference between cabinet posts and the Supreme Court:

[A] seat on the Supreme Court is a very different thing from even the most
elevated job in the White House. The court is the summit of the third branch
of government and its justices serve for life rather than just at the
president's pleasure.

What does it say about American politics that the president is now nominating cronies to lifetime positions? To me, it says, ominiously, that factionalism is rising. With the Democratic Party out of power and consumed by internal bickering, and the Republicans beginning to fight over the political pie they've won, it seems reasonable that some groups-within-the-group might try to seek stability by populating government with their personal friends and allies for the long term. The Bush family and its various satellites (Dick Cheney, etc.) may be beginning to emerge as one such faction.

It's too early to say, of course, but if factionalism does rise in the U.S., it's a bad omen. Just look what happened when Japan's long-ruling party degenerated into factions...