Supreme Wish List: Pragmatist, Easy to Confirm, 'Home Run'

As Obama vetting begins, 4 women lead

By Amelia Atlas, Newser User

Posted May 10, 2009 9:36 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama's choice to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court will be a pragmatist unafraid to challenge conventional wisdom, insiders tell the Washington Post. While Obama will not play it safe, they say, neither does he want a provocative choice that will create another partisan confirmation battle. "He's less eager to send a message than to send a great justice," explained senior adviser David Axelrod.

Axelrod emphasizes that those being vetted are all very different, but observers remain convinced Obama is nearly certain to pick a woman. A source said Obama has narrowed his list to six, and those believed to be the most serious contenders are Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Judge Diane Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. But "not all the names that are being talked about are out there," Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel cautions.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (2)]

President Barack Obama, in a unexpected visit to the White House pressroom Friday, May 1, 2009, tells reporters that he just got off the phone with Supreme Court Justice David Souter and they talked about... (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

The retirement of Supreme Court Justice David Souter has launched President Obama's first search for a new Supreme Court justice. (AP Photo/Jim Cole, File)

This April 2003 photo provided by Harvard University shows Elena Kagan, Harvard University law school dean. The Senate has confirmed Kagan as the first female solicitor general. (AP Photo/Harvard University, Kathleen Dooher)

In this April 29, 2009, file photo Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm answers questions during a news conference in Lansing, Mich. Granholm is a possible Supreme Court nominee. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The people he's considering have something in common. They're rigorous and well qualified. But they all offer different qualities beyond that...He's not working off a set of specs. - David Axelrod, on Obama's decision

My sense, for a variety of reasons, is that he would want the first one to be a home run. I don't think he will play it safe by picking just a bland nominee on the basis that the person would be easy to confirm. - unnamed democratic official

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

AP Photo

35 Brutally Honest Reasons Men Say No to Sex (The Stir)

Man in Mugshot Explains Why He Has Half a Head (HuffPost)

Another Sign Rihanna and Chris Brown Might Get Back Together? (Celebuzz)

These Exes Were Spotted Making Out … and That's a Bad Thing (Bleacher Report)

Did We All Kill Whitney Houston---Or Did We Prolong Her Life? (Slate)

Partner Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 4 comments

embersyc

May 10, 2009 6:10 AM CDT

Oh please for the love of god Pick Granholm, and let Dennis Archer take over Michigan.

AnnieChrist

May 10, 2009 5:31 AM CDT

You've done a great job here of parroting the pox news talking points, but now, since you are the great constitutional scholar, perhaps you can give a few examples where 'activist judges' have misapplied the law. I expect you will cite Bush v Gore, where those activist judges thomas and scalia wrote that GW bush would suffer irreparable harm if Florida's votes were actually counted. Other than that, what other cases can you cite?

kokuaguy

May 10, 2009 5:24 AM CDT

I nominate Dr. Sylvia Law, Elizabeth K. Dollard Chair of Law, Medicine, & Psychiatry at New York University School of Law. She's a prolific author, a MacArthur Genius award winner, a self made woman respected widely respected by folks of every ideological stripe.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Rick Santorum: Birth Control Is 'Not OK'

E-Cigarette Explodes in Man's Mouth

Washington Post (Source Grid »)

Obama's judicial views emphasize "empathy"
New York Times

Court nominees should be kept out of the spotlight
New York Times

Looking at some of the options
Chicago Tribune

Crime & Courts • Politics • US

Barack Obama • pragmatism • Jennifer Granholm • US Supreme Court • David Axelrod • David Souter • Elena Kagan • Sonia Sotomayor • Diane Wood

More Newser Stories

Hey, Lefties: This Supreme Court Should Scare You

Obama too timid on federal nominees, with big issues coming

(NEWSER) - With big issues working their way toward the Supreme Court on such vital issues as health care reform, same-sex marriage, affirmative action, and police stops of undocumented immigrants, liberals need to be on guard, writes longtime court-watcher Emily Bazelon for the New York Times . Sure, there are solid progressives, such as Obama appointees Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. But frequent swing vote Anthony Kennedy, while he may side with liberals on occasion, has a voting record on par with Ronald Reagan. More»

Kagan, Sotomayor Breathe New Wind Into Liberals' Sails

'Passionate' Sotomayor, bridge-building Kagan aren't shy during oral arguments

(NEWSER) - It's a bit like Mean Girls: Supreme Court Edition: After decades of the conservative tongue-lashings of Antonin Scalia dominating oral arguments as liberal justices sat on their hands, new kids Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan are unabashedly adding their voices to the melee. "Slow down from the rhetoric," Sotomayor told a conservative lawyer before the court; she then launched into what the LA Times calls a "withering discussion" of the case at hand. More»

Supreme Court Turns Down First ObamaCare Challenge

Kagan may not recuse herself from cases involving health reform

(AP) - The Supreme Court has turned down the first preliminary challenge to President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. The decision to reject an appeal from a former Republican state lawmaker in California was no surprise because a federal appeals court has yet to consider the case. The high court almost never reviews cases before the issues have been aired in lower courts. Of more significance is the sign that all the justices took part in rejecting the appeal. More»

40% Approve of Kagan: Poll

Gallup finds numbers similar to Alito, Miers

(NEWSER) - Forty percent of Americans think Elena Kagan was an "excellent" or "good" choice for the Supreme Court, while 14% rate President Obama's choice of nominee "poor," according to a new Gallup poll. That puts Kagan's initial approval numbers in line with those for Bush nominees Samuel Alito and Harriet Miers, but lower than Sonia Sotomayor and John Roberts. More»

Obama Names Kagan to Supreme Court

Calls her a great legal mind

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama officially announced “our solicitor general, and my friend, Elena Kagan” as his pick to replace John Paul Stevens on the Supreme Court today, calling her a trailblazer, a tenacious defender of ordinary citizens, and “one of the nation's foremost legal minds.” He highlighted her ideological flexibility, her work on the Citizens United case and even her baseball fandom—joking that, as a Mets fan, she'll lock horns with Yankees fan Sonia Sotomayor. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Supreme Wish List: Pragmatist, Easy to Confirm, 'Home Run'