Ruth Bader Ginsburg will retire when the time is right... later

WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg plans to keep up her notorious ways on the Supreme Court for a while yet.

The 81-year-old justice, who has served on the nation's highest court for more than 20 years, has faced mounting pressure from Democrats to retire while President Obama is still in office.

That way, the argument goes, it will guarantee another liberal-leaning justice will take her place, rather than roll the dice on her health (she's twice undergone treatment for cancer, in 1999 and 2009) and the 2016 election going the Democrats' way.

In an extensive interview with Elle Magazine, Ginsburg once again dismissed those who said she should step aside now. Citing the Senate Republicans' habit of filibustering large swaths of Obama's agenda, she said those calls were 'misguided.'

'Who do you think President Obama could appoint at this very day, given the boundaries that we have?' she said. 'If I resign any time this year, he could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see in the court.'

'[The Senate Republicans] took off the filibuster for lower federal court appointments, but it remains for this court. So anybody who thinks that if I step down, Obama could appoint someone like me, they're misguided. As long as I can do the job full steam... I think I'll recognize when the time comes that I can't any longer. But now I can.'

Ginsburg may be the Supreme Court's eldest member, but she notes just how different things are with three women justices sharing the bench.

It makes 'an enormous difference,' she said. 'When Sandra [Day O'Connor] left, I was all alone... Now [Elena] Kagan is on my left, and [Sonia] Sotomayor is on my right.'

'So we look like we're really part of the court and we're here to stay. Also, both of them are very active in oral arguments. They're not shrinking violets. It's very good for the schoolchildren who parade in and out of the court to see.'

The full Elle interview is available on news stands.