Of these frontrunners, who would you like to see Obama pick? Or would you rather he pick someone off list?
I think he'll pick me. I would rather he pick MadMax, but I doubt he'd have that degree of guts. I'd be the easy pick.
I'd like Elena Kagan to be President Obama's choice. Here's a brief bio from the Wall Street Journal, which has a good article about what they consider to be the 12 most likely possibilites (check the link below... it's a short read, for those who would like to place a face with the name and get some background). Elena Kagan Dean, Harvard Law School The 48 year old dean of Harvard Law Scholl served as a lawyer and policy advisor in President Bill Clinton's White House before joining the faculty in 1999. She is an administrative law scholar, studying the role of the U. S. president in articulating federal law. She clerked for Supreme Court Judge Thurgood Marshall in 1988 after clerking for Abner Mikva, an appeals court judge who has been a longtime friend and was a important mentor of Barack Obama during his Chicago years. Ms. Kagan was a supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review and graduated Harvard Law School in 1986, two years before Barack Obama entered the school and eventually took over as president of the law review. One thing that may keep Ms. Kagan off a final shortlist: She was confirmed last month as the U.S. solicitor general. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124...project=COURTNOMINEES0209&articleTabs=article While some of the other possible choices would be excellent, this is who I would love to see as Barack's first pick to our highest court. I think he'll end up getting the chance to pick two more by the end of his second term, and probably two, including this one, in his first term, in my opinion. President Obama will have a real opportunity to remake the current court. Ms. Kagan would be a superb first step in that process and, despite all her accomplishments, she is only 48. Like Barack, she is brilliant, articulate, and young. A perfect combination. Good thread, serious!
The San Francisco Chronicle is endorsing Diane Feinstein as the pick. They claim that she is a serious candidate.
It would be interesting to know what videos you rent... and I'm sure there's nothing you've ever written on here that would cause embarrassment.
Point taken. So, you've got the education, the experience, and you're solid on Constitutional issues... but I sense a human frailty that might be of concern. You seem the type that would either be intimidated by Scalia into voting the way he wants or or seduced by the feminine wiles of Ginsburg into doing what she wants. Could you stand up to Antonin and stay out of Ruth's bed?
I am intimidated by nobody (except Yao...that guy is huge). As far as Ruth goes...ummm...yuck. Do I take it that I have your ringing endorsement?
I just emailed the Whitehouse with your name, which I don't really know... so if you get an email through the board from Obama@wh.gov, please respond.
Looks like a politically-motivated decision -- surprise surprise -- and utter hypocrisy given Obama/Biden's reactions to the Bush appointees.
hum.... Is it the nomination? Or the coordinated republican attack on a Latina woman that is politically motivated? Information from the WH on Sotomayor. The President's Approach: · The President believes that selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is one of his most serious responsibilities. He vowed to seek someone with a sharp and independent mind, and a record of excellence and integrity. As a former constitutional law professor, he believes it paramount to select someone who rejects ideology and shares his deep respect for the Constitutional values on which this nation was founded. · But, as the President has made clear, upholding those constitutional values requires more than just the intellectual ability to apply a legal rule to a set of facts. It requires a common sense understanding of how laws affect the daily realities of people's lives. Judge Sonia Sotomayor: * Judge Sonia Sotomayor embodies those qualities -- as someone who brings not only brilliance in the law but a common sense understanding of how the law practically works. * Her American story and three decade career in nearly every aspect of the law provide Judge Sotomayor with unique qualifications to be the next Supreme Court justice. · She has been hailed as "a role model of aspiration, discipline, commitment, intellectual prowess and integrity" for her ascent to the federal bench from an upbringing in a South Bronx housing project, and as "one of the ablest federal judges currently sitting" for her thoughtful opinions. Judge Sotomayor's Background: * Born to a Puerto Rican family, Judge Sotomayor grew up in a public housing project in the South Bronx. Driven by her mother's belief in the power of education and her own indefatigable work ethic, Sotomayor excelled in school, graduating as valedictorian of her high school class and winning a scholarship to Princeton University. After graduating summa c*m laude, and Phi Beta Kappa, she entered Yale Law School, where she served as an editor of the Yale Law Journal. * Out of law school, Judge Sotomayor became an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, where she tried dozens of serious criminal cases over five years and was known as a "fearless and effective prosecutor." * She entered private practice in 1984, and worked as an international corporate litigator handling cases involving everything from intellectual property to banking, real estate and contract law. Judge Sotomayor's Judicial Track Record * If confirmed for the Supreme Court, Judge Sotomayor would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any justice in 100 years, and more overall judicial experience than anyone confirmed for the Court in the past 70 years. She has been a big-city prosecutor and a corporate litigator, a federal trial judge on the U.S. District Court, and an appellate judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. * Before she was promoted to the Second Circuit by President Clinton in 1998, she was appointed to the District Court for the Southern District of New York by President George H.W. Bush - a show of bipartisan support that proves good judging transcends political party. * As a trial judge, she earned a reputation as a sharp and fearless jurist who does not let powerful interests bully her into departing from the rule of law. In 1995, Judge Sotomayor ended the baseball strike by issuing an injunction against major league baseball owners. * In 1998, Judge Sotomayor became the first Latina to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, one of the most demanding circuits in the country. She has participated in over 3000 panel decisions and authored roughly 400 opinions, handling difficult issues of constitutional law, to complex procedural matters, to lawsuits involving complicated business organizations. * Judge Sotomayor is widely admired as a judge with a sophisticated grasp of legal doctrine and a keen awareness of the law's impact on everyday life. She understands that upholding the rule of law means going beyond legal theory to ensure consistent, fair, common-sense application of the law to real-world facts. * Known as a moderate on the court, Sotomayor often forges consensus and agreeing with her more conservative nominees far more frequently than she disagrees with them. In cases where Sotomayor and at least one judge appointed by a Republican president were on the three-judge panel, Sotomayor and the Republican appointee(s) agreed on the outcome 95% of the time * Judge Richard C. Wesley, a George W. Bush appointee to the Second Circuit, said "Sonia is an outstanding colleague with a keen legal mind. She brings a wealth of knowledge and hard work to all her endeavors on our court. It is both a pleasure and an honor to serve with her. " The Confirmation Process * The President is committed to working with the Senate to ensure an orderly and civil confirmation process. The average number of days between nomination and confirmation for the last five Supreme Court justices is 72 days. Justice Roberts was confirmed 72 days after his nomination, and Justice Ginsburg was confirmed in just 50 days. * The President believes it is important for the Senate to vote on Judge Sotomayor's confirmation before the August recess - more than two and a half months away -- to allow the new Justice time to prepare and participate when the Court confers in September and selects cases to be heard this year.
