He is doing more speaking. He has his swagger back. He has his groove back. Thomas's tenure on the court has no doubt pumped his confidence. The past months also have been a watershed in changing the symbols of alleged sexual impropriety among Washington's powers.
Inquiries come from the audiences too.
When someone at the National Restaurant Association convention asked last week what he thought about the uproar over independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's report, Thomas winced. Friends say Thomas also has been reenergized by the great-nephew that he and his wife, Virginia, have adopted. The justice is younger in spirit and everything else. As is the case when Thomas speaks, that audience Sept. 12 was rapt. And the crowd rose to its feet.