SCOTUS
what does the SCOTUS (supreme court of the united states) nominee say about obama? well, think back to that day in august when we all received text messages telling us obama had picked joe biden as his vice. i said it many a time, if the 2008 election had been about experience, joe biden would’ve won the democratic nod hands down (or maybe a sudden death match between him and dennis kucinich in a perfect world). the man was chairman of both the judiciary and foreign relations committees, he’s one of the most wonkish, policy-specific politicians i’ve ever seen. yet he did very poorly running for president himself both in 1988 and 2008.
so why did obama pick him? he was a safe choice who had enough experience to help him govern. biden’s nomination as vp did nothing to electrify or mobilize the liberal base. instead, the lack of controvery regarding biden’s nomination helped biden escape scrutiny relative unscathed incomparison to mccain’s wild card pick sarah palin, which proved to be a ‘net negative’ in the end.
i think we’re seeing the same safe, calculated decision obama made with biden in his new SCOTUS nominee, sonia sotomayer. much like biden, sotomayer was often the first name mentioned on a possible short list for a nominee. like biden’s experience, she wields a 17 year long career as a judge. she’s been confirmed by the senate twice before. and to put it bluntly, she is a hispanic woman. if the 2008 election taught us anything, it is that white male politician must walk a fine line in attacking non-white and/or women politicians. given the gop’s problem loosing ranks with hispanics, it seems this battle for the SCOTUS vacancy maybe over before it started.
2 years ago • Notes