Also, had Bush won a second term, perhaps Supreme Court picks could have gone a different way. Since then, Presidents have replaced strong liberals or conservative Justices with ideological and judicial opposites. Kerry replaced William Rehnquist (a noted conservative), with Sidney Thomas (a strong liberal. McCain replaces Sandra Day O’Connor and John Paul Stevens with Janice Rogers Brown and Raymond Gruender, respectively. Clinton replaced David Souter and Antonin Scalia with Patricia Millet and David Barron. And Romney just recently replaced Anthony Kennedy with Amy Coney Barrett.
So as one can see, lots of shifts in ideological conposition. Had Bush won a second term, he would’ve been able to appoint two Supreme Court Justices (Sandra Day O’Connor most likely would've retired with a Republican in office). According to his former shortlist, his top choices were Samuel Alito and Priscilla Owen. Subsequently, a Democrat would’ve most likely won in 2008, and perhaps might’ve replaced Souter and Stevens with people who might shared their jurisprudence.
OOC: Opinion needed: would David Souter hold out for another four years and retire with a Democrat rather than with a Republican. I know he was getting sick of D.C.