This morning, ABC's Jake Tapper has a list of potential Supreme Court nominees. Word is that Obama will announce his nominee in early May. The Republican Senators are waiting to see who gets nominated before finalizing their strategy. The GOP base will want a fight, but GOP Senators will be wary of creating so much of a battle that it awakens the moribund Democratic base. I think it's safe to say Obama won't consider the Democratic base when he makes his decision:
The short list includes: Solicitor General Elena Kagan; Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit; Judge Diane Wood of the Seventh Circuit Appeals Court in Chicago; Democratic Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm; former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears; Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; Harvard Law School dean Martha Minow, who was once the president's professor; and Judge Sidney Thomas of the Ninth Circuit Appeals Court in San Francisco.No doubt some of these are trial balloons to gauge the level of GOP opposition.
There are others not on the short list whom the president might consider, including White House official Cass Sunstein, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., is being pushed by some on Capitol Hill, sources said.
CNN reported that Elizabeth Warren is also on its version of the short list. The widely-respected Warren is ccurrently the chair of Congressional Oversight Panel, which oversees TARP. She'll play a key role over the next few weeks as the Senate consider its financial reform bill.
Apparently, Hillary Clinton is not under consideration.
Also, Marc Ambinder took the speculation to a new level in a post he wrote yesterday about whether the first name on Tapper's list, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, is gay:
Given the confusion and rumors about Kagan's sexuality, the issue is bound to come up. It's tough for the media to cover, because reporters have trouble writing openly and honestly about a very contested subject, and because they don't want to appear to be outing anyone. There's no consensus within "The Village" about whether sexual orientation is a private matter -- or about when it becomes a public matter.Instead of actually discussing the issue, the Villagers just whisper about it. I believe this falls into that trial balloon classification. There is still a mindset among many in the media that there's something wrong with being gay. Unfortunately, that's reinforced by politicos, media types and pundits who lead closeted lives. I would be shocked if Obama appointed someone to the Supreme Court who is gay or even someone whose sexual orientation is the source of "confusion and rumors." It's not his style.
