For Obama, Justice Must Be Pragmatic

Enough already with Harvard and Yale: blogger

(NEWSER) - The Supreme Court and White House may as well be decorated in ivy, complains David Bernstein. "Once Elena Kagan gets confirmed, every Supreme Court Justice will have attended Harvard or Yale law schools," he writes. And Kagan—whose bachelor's degree, for the record, is from Princeton—was nominated by a Harvard-educated president who beat Yale and Harvard opponents to succeed a Yalie who himself succeeded ... oh, you get the picture. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama said today he would be announcing his nominee to the Supreme Court “soon” and hopes to have the new justice confirmed by Congress’ August recess, Bloomberg reports. In a C-SPAN interview, Obama laid out his criteria, which includes not only “ivory tower learning” but also empathy. “You have to be able to stand in somebody else’s shoes and see through their eyes and get a sense of how the law might work or not work in practical day-to-day living.” More»

Both in DC; sources say Obama began interviews with Wood

(NEWSER) - The Washington rumor mill is focusing on two names as President Obama steps up the search for a Supreme Court nominee, the Washington Post reports. Federal Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood visited the capital Tuesday, ostensibly to attend a judicial conference, but insiders say she met with the president for an interview, the first of several Obama plans with nominees in coming days. More»

Prez manages to play it safe and progressive at the same time

(NEWSER) - President Obama's pick of Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court says more about the president than his nominee, writes Glenn Thrush. The president spoke boldly about the need to stand up to big business in his pre-selection talk while privately seeking a safe pick who could be confirmed without much of a fight, Thrush writes at Politico , dubbing Obama's style "the audacity of caution." More»

She'll have critics on both right and left, but will skirt major battles

(NEWSER) - The Senate confirmation hearings for Elena Kagan will likely include some minor dust-ups but no major battles, observers say. Liberals are worried she's more conservative than Stevens and will thus push the court to the right, but are unlikely to seriously oppose her. Conservatives respect her overall, though her move at Harvard to kick military recruiters off campus because of the ban on gays will probably catch her some flak from the right, Politico reports. More»