Elena Kagan Emerging As Supreme Court Front-Runner First Posted: 04- 9-10 03:48 PM | Updated: 04- 9-10 04:25 PM
Elena Kagan, President Obama's solicitor general, is rapidly emerging as a frontrunner to replace retiring Chief Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. Kagan is widely praised as an accomplished and intelligent attorney, but is far more conservative than Stevens and could shift the political dynamic of the high court.
Conservatives are responding favorably to the potential of a Justice Elena Kagan while liberals worry that, by choosing her, the administration would miss the opportunity to elevate a genuine progressive.
John Manning, a conservative professor at Harvard Law School, where Kagan served as dean, told HuffPost that he would firmly support a Kagan nomination. Professor Charles Fried, a Reagan administration solicitor general, also said that he'd support a Kagan pick.
"She is a supremely intelligent person, really one of the most intelligent people I have encountered, and I have met a lot of them, as one does in this business. She is very adroit politically," said Fried. "She has quite a strong personality and a winning personality. I think she's an effective, powerful person and a very, very intelligent person, and a very hardworking and serious person."
Fried served on the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts from 1995-1999 and is now at Harvard Law School. He said that Republicans would be well-advised to get behind her, but may decide to oppose just for the sake of opposition.
"Let's put it this way: she should be [backed by Republicans]. But it depends on the politics," he said. "Republicans may just decide that: 'We're going to say no to what Obama comes up with the first time and we'll come up with a reason why after we've decided that we're going to say no.' I can't predict that that's what they'll do or not. But she should be, she should be."
Fried has known Kagan for years and said he may even have had her as a student. He first met her when she was a visiting professor at Harvard. He was on the board that approved her for tenure and also on the selection committee that tapped her to be dean...............>>>>...............>>>>...............http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/09/elena-kagan-emerging-as-s_n_532319.html?view=screen
Obama likely to use same strategy for second court pick BY BEN FELLER AND CHARLES BABINGTON The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Emboldened by success the first time around, President Barack Obama is likely to pick the Supreme Court nominee he wants and let the confirmation fight proceed from there, putting huge emphasis on a justice who would bring a fight-for-the-littleguy sensibility to the job. Politics will certainly play into Obama’s calculus: He no longer has the votes in the Senate to overcome the delaying tactic known as the filibuster, and a minority Republican Party in fierce opposition to Obama’s agenda has little incentive to hand him a win just months before House and Senate elections. But Obama’s strategy worked when he chose Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter last year — announce the criteria he deems the most vital for a nominee, vet the nominees with no embarrassing gaffes or leaks and pick the one with whom he feels the most comfort. Confirmability was a factor then, not a driver. Expect much the same now. Obama’s task is to replace the liberal lion of the court, Justice John Paul Stevens, who on Friday announced his coming retirement. In quick succession, Obama has a rare chance to choose two justices who could shape the court’s rulings for decades. He has given every sign that he approaches this decision the way aggressive coaches prefer to call strategy — playing to win, as opposed to playing not to lose. ...........>>>>............>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00301&AppName=1
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