Retiring would ensure that a Democratic president will be able to choose a successor who shares Ginsberg's liberal views on issues like abortion, gay marriage, and the death penalty.
“[L]eaving before the next election isn't enough,” the dean says, because—if Justice Ginsburg were to remain on the Supreme Court until 2016—there would be “a real chance that Republicans would delay the confirmation process to block an outgoing president from being able to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.”