Obama Nominates Elena Kagan to be Next Supreme Court Justice

[Ogre Mage]

I also think Wood would have been a better pick.  Kagan has very little record to go on and she almost always declines to answer when asked to give her opinion.  Essentially the President is telling us "trust me."  Of what we do know about her, some of it is reassuring, some of it is not.  Conveniently, she is quite amendable to executive power.

The best way to get onto the Supreme Court is to never say what you think about anything.

As for the hearings, she will simply obfuscate as much as possible. 

[Ogre Mage]

Some positives of the Kagan nomination --

*She's 50 and concerns about her weight and smoking habits aside, could become a progressive force over the long term once she accrues experience and seniority.  There is a good chance she will have a very long tenure.  Even Justice Stevens didn't become the figure we currently see him as until the second half of his tenure.  It takes a long time to develop that gravitas on the Court.  And while she may not be as progressive as I would like, I would bet money she's not going to turn into a reverse Souter.  Obama is calculating that she is the strongest bet long-term, although in the short term she is likely to struggle.  

*While she has not been successful in persuading the Justices as SG, my understanding is that she has good relations with them, even those she disagrees with (Scalia).  They already have a certain comfort level with her.  She's going to be working with these folks a long time and already having good established relations with the Justices gives her a leg up.  And she's had a year to watch them and try to figure out how they tick.  So she has a good base upon which to build her influence.  Once she gets past the learning curve phase, this could be important.

*The Obama administration is trying to make political hay out of the Citizens United case and since she argued the position which the majority of the public supports, she is the most logical avatar.  

As for the criticisms of Kagan, they have been aired out pretty thoroughly and I agree with a large portion of it.  She wasn't my first choice.  From a political standpoint, she is not a pick which will cause a revolt from the base.  But there will be little excitement over her selection.  It's hard to get excited about a blank slate.  She is an establishment Democrat who has carefully kept her views hidden.  Why should we be reassured about someone who remains almost completely unknown?

In terms of how the Constitution and the Supreme Court is framed intellectually, the President has ceded the field to the Right.  He could have picked a judge with a clear progressive track record who is hugely respected throughout the federal judiciary for her intellect and writing ability, who is a skillful proponent of a dynamic Constitution and who, like Kagan, would also have added gender diversity to the Court.  This is disappointing and an opportunity lost.