by Mark Silva and updated
President Barack Obama said today that he will recommend an appointee for the Supreme Court soon.
Obama, weighing a field of as many as 10 potential candidates -- with most observers believing the real search is focusing on only a few -- has a number of women in his sights: Including Elena Kagan, the solicitor general, and Diane Wood, a federal judge in Chicago.
The president has started personally telephoning some of the candidates.
"Last time the nomination went up at the end of May,'' Obama said of his nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor last year. "We are certainly going to meet that deadline and we hope maybe we can accelerate it a little bit so that we have some additional time.''
The president -- fielding one question from reporters after a meeting with Senate leaders at the White House this morning -- was asked about the issue of abortion rights.
"I don't have litmus tests around any of these issues,'' Obama replied. "But I want somebody who will be interrpreting our Constitution in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that includes women's rights... Part of what our core Constitution -- constitutional values -- promote is the notion that individuals are protected in their privacy and their bodily integrity, and women are not exempt from that.''
The president met today with leaders of both parties -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell -- as well as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Patrick Leahy, and ranking Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions.
"I'm confident that we can come up with a nominee who will gain the confidence of the Senate and the confidence of the country, and the confidence of individuals who look to the court to provide evenhanded justice to all Americans,'' Obama said after their meeting in the Oval Office.
Comments
I know President Obama's choice will be a better choice than the Bush&Cheney's hacks. At least, the new nominee, upon installation, will not be mouthing comments as a President delivers his State-of-the-Union message, or the flubbing a Presidential oath of Office by the Chief Justice. Can you believe those hacks, Bush&Cheney left in their wake?? It is a good thing they have clerks, or they may not be able to find their way to the Supreme Court Building !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | April 21, 2010 11:21 AM
It’s great to hear that the conversation among Senate leaders and Obama has begun. I think appointing a woman to the Supreme Court is paramount. Last week, I wrote a letter to the President on behalf of my organization, Catalyst, urging him to select a woman. The letter can be accessed here:
http://bit.ly/bQNcdf
I hope President Obama seizes this opportunity to move the Court one step closer to parity.
Posted by: Ilene H Lang | April 21, 2010 12:11 PM
I am sure we will have the usual confirmation fight. Unfortunately this has been going on since the Bork confirmation hearings. It will be politics as usual. Whether its the Democrats or the Republicans, they will always find something wrong with a candidate for Supreme Court no matter how qualified they might appear on paper. Both the Democrats and Republicans try to nominate a candidate that may best fit their liberal or conservative views plus diversity. Although there is talk that the next justice must be a woman for balance on the court, with Stevens gone there is no Protestant on the Court even though Protestants make up over 50% of the U.S. population. It will be interesting to see what Obama does and if there is a big fight. Time will tell.
Posted by: Depot- Jim | April 21, 2010 12:33 PM
With any luck President Obama will appoint Tina Fey to the Supreme Court. Their written decisions will be much more entertaining - and perhaps just as legitimate. .......
http://thefiresidepost.com/2010/04/12/obama-to-appoint-tina-fey-to-supreme-court/
Posted by: Ohg Rea Tone | April 21, 2010 1:09 PM
FITZ,
Let's see which side of the court gave up personal property rights to big corporations so the local community can reap higher property taxes? Those were the liberals that screwed the little guy for corporate America.
Read Kelo v New London
Nice job by the Democret-Socialist-Flatliner wing of the Supreme Court to steal from the little guy.
Posted by: Terry | April 21, 2010 7:37 PM
How about the other half of that picture, " Terry ", where the Bush&Cheney hacks gave our Free Speech to Corporations. That obvious example of activism was more profound, than the wrong-headedness of the taking of a private citizen's property and giving it to a Corporation. No doubt, both decisions were wrong-headed, but the question of Free Speech, to me, is a far more serious matter than private property issues. I hope they revisit that property case and reverse it, also !!
By the way, " Terry ", I don't think you ever read any post of mine, in which I state that Liberals do not mess-up. We do, all of the time, but our blunders don't have quite the same effect on the Richter scale as the Republican-Libertarian-T.Baggers' blunders do !! Those blunders, the Republican-Libertarian-T.Baggers', are seismic events !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | April 22, 2010 11:17 AM
FITZ,
The conservatives did give free speech to corporations and unions.
As far as corporations, I hate to break it to you, but many corporations already had unlimited free speech when it came to politics. The ruling just gave this opportunity to all other corporations.
Those coporations include but are not limited to: NewsCorp, Disney, General Electric, Disney, AOL Time Warner, New York Times, Tribune Corp, etc...
Finally a kernel of truth "in which I state that Liberals do not mess-up. We do, all of the time..." And you are breathing, not thinking, proof of that.
Posted by: Terry | April 22, 2010 7:58 PM