David Souter Retiring, Obama gets to make first SCOTUS pick

[a.e.B.O.T.]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

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I tend to agree that Sotomayor or Wood will be the nominee; both are brilliant, and neither is all that controversial. I'm unsure whether he would elevate Kagan so soon after making her Solicitor General, but who knows.

That seems to be a popular consensus, since they are great women with Chicago ties... their names are popping up a lot in the political blogs

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by a.e.B.O.T.

That seems to be a popular consensus, since they are great women with Chicago ties... their names are popping up a lot in the political blogs

They're all definitely brilliant and well-qualified for the position. No matter what, I would imagine that Kagan will end up on the Court at some point (unless she gets involved with some scandal or ethical/legal issue).

[KSigkid]

Looks like it's Sotomayor: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009...nia-sotomayor/ .

I'm slightly surprised, only in that I thought it would be Kagan or Wood. I suppose, though that it's not that surprising: I know there were some questions about Wood's age, and Kagan's young enough that if another vacancy opens up (Ginsburg or Stevens) during Obama's presidency, she can be brought forth as a nominee (with some good non-academic experience to boot as Solicitor General).

ETA: She'll probably sail through the confirmation process; there's really only one controversial opinion (the Riccio firefighter case), and she made a remark a few years ago about judges making policy. Otherwise, she's got the credentials and a fairly impressive life story.

[PhoenixAzul]

And she's a Type 1 diabetic . I wonder if she wears a pump or if she takes injections.

[deepimpact2]

Originally Posted by PhoenixAzul

And she's a Type 1 diabetic . I wonder if she wears a pump or if she takes injections.

Wow. I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing.

[PhiSigmaRho]

Sotomayor is Obama's safe pick, the one he knows will easily get confirmed because she is highly qualified. I see him emphasizing her background to pacify his liberal base, who wants to see a super liberal judge on the bench. Personally, I hope she turns out to be more of a centrist, like O'Connor who made the Court so interesting at times.

[5Knowledge1913]

Originally Posted by PhiSigmaRho

Sotomayor is Obama's safe pick, the one he knows will easily get confirmed because she is highly qualified. I see him emphasizing her background to pacify his liberal base, who wants to see a super liberal judge on the bench. Personally, I hope she turns out to be more of a centrist, like O'Connor who made the Court so interesting at times.

I agree with your rationale. I would not necessarily call her a "safe" pick, but I do agree that she is qualified, not just a minority and should get the job.

I believe that no matter who he were to choose, both he and the candidate would be scrutinized, so he should just go with whomever he believes is best suited.

I hope that she is the best pick and is confirmed and does a great job as a Supreme Court Justice!