A sub-lifetime appointment is also really bad for the Court system, too- the Court gets the final say in the law- and needs independence- and if we were to hold elections every few years for the Supreme Court, we would have an even more partisan government, as people would go campaigning for that office, with all its mud-slinging and hyper-partisanship that seems to be necessary to get elected in the United States' current political climate.

Sometimes, having an old guy say "whoa, slow down! That's a bad idea" is a good idea.