Jeff Toobin reminds us of another admirable aspect of former President Gerald Ford - his commitment to a diverse America and a first rate Supreme Court:

[Ford] wrote an Op-Ed article on this page titled “Inclusive America, Under Attack.” A pair of pending lawsuits, Mr. Ford wrote, would prohibit Michigan and other universities “from even considering race as one of many factors weighed by admission counselors.” Such a move would condemn “future college students to suffer the cultural and social impoverishment that afflicted my generation.”

As it happened, on Sept. 15, 1999, a month after the article ran, Mr. Ford had dinner with James M. Cannon, one of his former White House aides, in Grand Rapids, Mich. The men were in town to hear a speech at Mr. Ford’s presidential museum by his only nominee to the Supreme Court, John Paul Stevens.

By that point, Justice Stevens had long since proved a great disappointment to conservatives. But his nomination remained one of Mr. Ford’s proudest achievements as president, for Justice Stevens’ moderate-to-liberal record reflected Mr. Ford’s own later views, as his stand on affirmative action illustrated. At the dinner, Mr. Ford encouraged Mr. Cannon to do what he could to help the university in the lawsuit, which was heading for the Supreme Court.

I often forget that Gerald Ford named Stevens to the bench. The most important Justice holds back the reactionary tide thanks to Gerald Ford.

His most important legacy. Something to be remembered.

John Edwards was on the Situation Room yesterday. I happened to watch it live and thought both anchors were very negative to him. But, he never lost his cool and gave some excellent answers, particularly on the war in Iraq.

On the minus side, he said executing Saddam was a "good thing." From the transcript:

HENRY: Now, you want to be commander-in-chief. And in your first move, you would take 40,000 to 50,000 U.S. troops out of Iraq. Do you really believe the Iraqi government could survive?

EDWARDS: Here's what I believe: I believe an escalation of our presence in Iraq is a enormous mistake. I think this McCain doctrine doesn't make any sense. There is no military solution to what's happening in Iraq. Everyone knows that. The only solution -- potential solution is a political solution. I mean, the Iraqis are going to have to decide whether they're actually going to have a representative government that includes everybody, including the Sunnis. And that's the only way to ultimately tamp down this violence.

The Guardian has this obituary for Saddam Hussein. The Times Online has another. The BBC obituary is here.

President Bush stayed up past his bedtime to release this statement insisting falsely that Saddam got a fair trial.

Worst headline: From Australia, "Iraqis Dance as Saddam Swings".

European leaders focus their comments on the death penalty.

Now what? More war, as usual, more U.S. soldiers will die, more billions of our dollars will be spent and we are not one bit safer.

We are all tainted by the vengeance in our name.

Joel Layden of the Israel News Agency:

Many news media are now reporting on the fine details of what is a hanging. Providing minute by minute accounts of what would happen if the rope was too short or too long. Are we as a civilized Western world any different from the crowds that gathered to watch the French Guillotine at work or the hangman's noose in the old US West?

What distinguishes us from the Islamic terrorists that we fight is that we cherish life.
Yes, in war we can be more barbaric using pyschops as good if not better than the enemy by hanging blood dripping heads on wooden sticks. But do we need now to place Saddam's head on a wooden stick? Will video of his hanging decrease conflict or increase it in the Middle-East?

Arab TV reports Saddam Hussein was executed ten minutes ago.

U.S. military deaths in Iraq hit 2,993 today.

Saddam's death won't bring one of them back.

11:50 pm MT: Witnesses say it was quick.

"It was very quick. He died right away," one of the official Iraqi witnesses said. The former president's face was uncovered, he appeared calm and said a brief prayer as Iraqi policemen walked him to the gallows and put the noose round him, the witness said.

10:00 pm MT: Saddam has been hanged.

8:00 pm MT: Saddam has arrived at execution site. The hanging will take place within minutes.

7:51 pm: Final arrangements are in place.

Saddam Hussein will be hooded with hands tied behind his back. Government and religious officials, a lawyer and a doctor will act as witnesses. The execution will be filmed to provide proof of his death.

7:05 pm. A federal judge in DC has denied Saddam's request for stay. You heard it here first. Here's the order.

7:00 pm MT: CNN reports Iraqi officials say he will hang within the hour.

6:33 pm MT: AP is reporting (incorrectly) Saddam's request for stay has been denied. It's not showing on the court docket sheet yet, I'll upload the order when it appears. CNN just confirms the AP was wrong, there has been no ruling.

Amnesty International after the death verdict of Saddam Hussein:

"This trial should have been a major contribution toward establishing justice and the rule of law in Iraq, and in ensuring truth and accountability for the massive human rights violations perpetrated by Saddam Hussein's rule," said Malcolm Smart, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "In practice, it has been a shabby affair, marred by serious flaws that call into question the capacity of the tribunal, as currently established, to administer justice fairly, in conformity with international standards."

The AP is reporting:

A top Iraqi official said Saddam will be executed before 6 a.m. Saturday, Baghdad time, or 10 p.m. Friday EST.

I'm checking the District of Columbia docket and as of 5:17 pm, there has been no order issued on the stay of execution request yet.

I have uploaded the stay request here.

With Saddam's execution set for hours from now, I'm going to switch to a single execution watch thread, rather than keep posting separate entries.

Saddam Hussein's lawyers filed a motion for stay of execution in federal court in DC today.

Here is the 21 page petition (pdf).

News coverage here.

Update: The federal judge in DC has denied Saddam's request for stay. You heard it here first. Here's the order.

Update: Saddam's lawyer Giovanni diStephano is on CNN right now (from Rome) saying that a petition for a temporary restraining order has been filed in federal court in DC to prevent Saddam's turnover to Iraqi authorities. It has been assigned to Judge Sullivan.

Via Raw Story and AFP:

An anonymous lawyer for Saddam was now claiming Hussein will be executed on Saturday at dawn.

I'm not buying the U.S. denial and claim that Saddam remains in U.S. custody:

Raising the tension, US authorities also cancelled a planned meeting on Saturday between Saddam and his defense team, lawyer Issam Ghazawi told AFP. "I just received an email from US authorities in Baghdad in which a security official said it has been decided to cancel our visit planned for Saturday in Baghdad with president Saddam Hussein," Ghazawi said.

"We can't have you in Baghdad tomorrow. We cannot provide any protection for you. You can't see Saddam because he is not in our physical custody anymore," said the email according to Ghazawi, who read it by phone to an AFP reporter.

The White House is denying responsibility for the execution:

The cable networks are carrying the late President Gerald Ford's first funeral service in Palm Desert, CA live. The Palm Desert Sun is live-blogging it.

Betty Ford looks so sad, yet dignified. It's very quiet in the church, not a peep from anyone. He's then going to be flown to Washington and then to Michigan for his burial.

R.I.P., Gerald Ford.