But Souter has been a lot more than just a massive disappointment to the right. Watching him at oral argument--as recently as Wednesday in the Voting Rights Act case--you just didn't see the bookish, reclusive man from another century. You saw an incredibly passionate and eloquent spokesman for equality and racial justice, often willing to dominate an argument and wear his heart on his sleeve in ways his colleagues would not. The public has often underestimated Souter because he shuns the spotlight and writes, for the most part, in a pretty bookish, temperate way. We also tend to glide right past him because given any chance to do so, he will run himself down as well. But if you've been watching him for the past few years, you know that more often than not the passionate, fiery and even outraged voice from the liberal half of the bench has been Souter's. If it's indeed true that he is leaving, the left of the court won't just be losing a bright light, but some much needed heat as well.