What should a President Obama look for in a Supreme Court nominee?

BE ELECTED

Can't handle the tensions of 5-4 Supreme Court decisions, including this morning's overturning of the D.C. handgun ban? Are you tired of numerous rights being held over your head, including but not limited to, the right to choose?

Well, rooting for an Obama Administration is a start. And this is reason #374 why it's important for Obama to win by a considerable margin and have the coattails for the rest of the ballot. Obama needs serious momentum to run past Republicans and a clearly biased MSM. And he will need to spend that momentum, that political capital, on Supreme Court justices.

Unless you are aware of federal judges, you might not know specific people whom Obama should nominate. We know Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have been kicked around as possible Supreme Court choices, but this arena might not be where they are best suited. But think of this question more as an exercise for what criteria Obama should consider.

On the current court, the progressives' best friend is John Paul Stevens, appointed by Gerald Ford. And Souter, a George H.W. Bush appointee, has turned out to be more liberal than Republicans would like. Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer have been reliable Clinton appointees. But as Stevens and Souter illustrate, you can never be too sure of what you are getting in your appointees.

Things haven't been easy for Democrats. Besides the two stolen elections, Bill Clinton only got to appoint two, and Jimmy Carter remains the only U.S. president to serve a full-term and not get to appoint a Supreme Court justice.

Possibly a President Obama would appoint replacements for Stevens (88) and likely Ginsburg (75), as well. Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy are in their early 70s, and could be replaceable seats in 4 or 8 years of an Obama Administration.

One disturbing trend where Republicans have been successful lately is picking young Supreme Court justices to maximize their longevity on the court. Look at the Bush family appointees: The most extreme case was Clarence Thomas, who was 43 years old on his first day, but David Souter was 51. And for W, John Roberts was 50 and Samuel Alito was 55 on their first days on the Court.

If a President Obama takes that strategy, a number of people currently in consideration might not stand a chance simply because they are older than the numbers in the previous paragraph.

So what should Obama look for in a Supreme Court justice? Age? Philosophy? Star names or unknowns?

Give us your criteria, and let us know.

BE ELECTED

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