ConfirmThem

I am glad to read that the Journal article says that three frequently mentioned Obama judicial picks (Deval Patrick, Kathleen Sullivan and Cass Sunstein) are more likely to join his administration in executive branch positions than be named as judges. That would be bullets America would avoid.

Of the four the article lists as SCOTUS possibilities (Wood, Waxman, Kagan and Sotomayor), I think Sotomayor is the least intelligent. Professionally, she pales in comparison to the other three. If I were a Democrat, I would be rooting for Wood. She has intelligence and credentials. This is not to say that I agree with any of her legal positions, but I would prefer an intelligent liberal to a stupid one. If there is a retirement in the summer of 2009, I think Kagan and Waxman don't have a chance of being nominated. Both need seasoning on a circuit court. Kagan is a shoo-in for the D.C. Circuit if Obama wins. Earlier I mentioned the second open position on that court probably would go to either Sunstein or Koh. If Sunstein chooses to be an Obama policy advisor, I think Waxman replaces him alongside Koh.

I am pleased to see Lilian BeVier listed a possible nominee. She is one of my favorite female conservatives. I know many on this site might be shocked that McCain would consider a nominee so old, but I think McCain might try to nominate her to appease the Dems. She would be the Republican version of Ruth Bader Ginsburg - an older nominee that the opposing party wouldn't mind as much because they wouldn't see her as lasting on the court for thirty five years.

I have a post at Redstate titled George Will Can Sometimes be a Snotty and Condescending Fool.

Courtesy of How Appealing,

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=6127964&page=1

"The next president, whether it's John McCain or Barack Obama, can undo many of Bush's programs and policies. But he won't be in a position to change the Supreme Court until a justice or two decides it's time to go -- and even then, it depends on which justice retires and who is tapped (and confirmed) as the replacement."

Courtesy of How Appealing,

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122533125197182865.html

"The November 4 ballot will feature an unusually high number of judicial races that could tip the balance of several state supreme courts. The trial bar senses an opening in what may be a Democratic year and is pouring cash into the races to reverse what has been a nationwide legal reform tide."

Courtesy of How Appealing,

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/1...

"Obama would ensure that courts safeguard the freedom of all citizens, independent from political influence of the executive branch and Congress."

Greco is a former president of the ABA. Is it any wonder that with such partisan statements as those in this article that Republicans doubt the objectivity of the ABA and its rating system? It should be remembered that Greco was the head of the ABA when it did its hatchet-job on the rating of well-qualified Fifth Circuit nominee Michael Wallace.

In a previous thread I refer to the ongoing controversy (and lawsuit) over Barak Obama's citizenship. Was he born in Hawaii or Kenya? Did he lose his U.S. citizenship in Indonesia. Below is a cut and paste from the American Thinker web site. I haven't been able to access the video referred to yet, but I'm told that it has one of his aunts saying she was there when he was born in Kenya. Mr. Berg (Burg?) is a Democratic attorney in PA.

October 11, 2008
This could be the game changer (updated)
By Thomas Lifson
Someone with the unlikely name of Molotov Mitchell has produced a 10 minute and 52 second video [watch it below] that could well change the terms of the election -- if enough people watch it. Illuminati Productions has posted it to YouTube. They have provided the voting public a very professionally and engagingly done video generation equivalent of a long detailed article in a place like American Thinker.

It makes accessible to the general public some of the serious questions about Obama's citizenship status that have been vetted almost exclusively in the conservative web world. More important than the questions and allegations is the refusal of the Obama campaign to provide what should be the simplest response to an action brought in federal court: a certified birth certificate from Hawaii.

You can't get most voters to focus on print media in order to entertain a series of hard questions on what seems like a far-fetched notion. Especially those voters who rely on the Big Media. They figure that if this were true, they would have heard about it from the old familiar faces. But you can get people to watch 11 minutes of interesting video raising a slew of questions for Obama, in fact cornering him, on the question of his birth, citizenship, and eligibility for office as POTUS under the Constitution. Especially if people start talking about the video. It's called viral distribution. A friend emails an Obama-supporting friend and dares him or her to watch.

A lifelong Democrat who has held political office and been a Pennsylvania state committeeman, Philip Berg, has brought suit over the real questions raised by the absence of a valid Obama birth certificate. His narrative of the various questions Obama has refused to answer is devastating. Graphics and sound are well-deployed to avoid tedium as data is conveyed in a way that allows viewers to absorb it. When he contrasts Obama's behavior when challenged (use perfectly valid legal technicalities to delay) with John McCain's full disclosure of all documentary evidence under a similar challenge (remember the flap over his birth in the Panama Canal Zone? -- who raised those questions, anyway?), there is no doubt in a viewer's mind that there is something seriously wrong here.

We are talking about the Presidency and this guy stonewalls?

The only way Obama can satisfactorily respond is to release his suposed Hawaiian birth certificate. If he has it, why hasn't he released it? If he does release it, game over. So why drag this out on technical grounds? It doesn't make sense.

If this video gets widely viewed and discussed, Obama's support will crumble in the face of his continued stonewalling. Why doesn't he authorize the state of Hawaii to provide birth certificate to the court?

I am grateful for the efforts of the people who put this op together. It is brilliantly timed. I do know that there are one or more smart Democrats who haven't forgiven Obama and who don't want to see him elected. They know how to design and implement really effective plans to get things done.

They might even want to get Obama thrown off the ballot and replaced by the second place finisher before Election Day. Or, if the Democratic Party stonewalls and the court delays, pick up the pieces.

Watch it and see what you think.

Man, Redstate's down again. Metaphor for this whole campaign...

STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SCALIA, J., joined.

The list is heavy on campaign heavyweights and Washington insiders, many of them from the administration of President Bill Clinton. So while surprises can be expected to crop up — especially on any Republican members of the Cabinet — many of the selections would likely be proven hands who would provoke little controversy. Obama has not communicated his final choice on any of these posts but plans to move very quickly if he is elected, according to the sources.

Defense secretary : Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.); Richard Danzig, Navy secretary under Clinton; John Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS and former deputy secretary of Defense; President Bush’s incumbent, Robert Gates — would be for at least a year so he wasn’t a lame duck.

Attorney general: Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine; Eric Holder, who was deputy AG under Clinton and is now with Covington & Burling and led Obama’s vice presidential search; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Supreme Court nominee: Washington superlawyer Robert Barnett; legal scholar Cass Sunstein; Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor of New York; Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School. Consensus is it would most likely be a woman.

Secretary of State: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.); Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)

Pasted the more interesting ones. Sotomayor and Kagan; nothing new, really.

if he's elected and there's an opening and that first he'll nominate
Estrada. If he's voted down, then
JR Brown. If she's voted down, then
McConnell. And that he'll keep on coming.
I don't think the American people would cotton to such tactics by the senate.

There is no way Tim Kaine will be anything in an Obama admin. because the Lt. Gov. of VA is a Republican.

I have been tracking Senate races very closely and it looks like we will have 42 seats in the next Senate.

The Senate is a disaster, in large part because we've had some real mediocrities there recently. No way to spin it, starting with former "leader" Frist and the madcap duo of Burns 'n Allen. If it's gonna be a Barry landslide, I'd just as soon clean out both houses and start rebuilding. I mean there was an article in a GA paper today where Chambliss' campaign manager was stammering about "Saxby doesn't play THAT much golf."

Criminey! Where are the rest of the Huntsmans & Jindals? The Dems really only have run a couple outright clunker Senate campaigns this cycle, whatever one thinks of the individual candidates. Time for some new blood at the NRC, to put it mildly. Hey, everybody thought the Dems were doomed with Screamin' Howie Dean runnin' the shew. Whooops. Kos thinks Huckabee would be a good Chairman (seriously). Definitely can't be some tired old hack, that's for sure.

Well, whoever thought 1980 would follow 1964? :)

STEVENS, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which SCALIA, J., joined.

A lot of this is how Schumer has outdone and outwitted Dole in every category.

Just look at the lack of Senate retirements on the Democratic side after they lost a ton of open seats in 2004.

Sadly my state is sending this old fossil Laughtenburg back to Washington. I have no idea why. He's beyond incompetent and probably senile, and he's refused to even debate his opponent.

Where do you get 42? Give me your breakdown state by state.

We now have 49 seats:

3 seats have been gone for months-VA, NM, CO.

We just lost Alaska when Stevens was convicted of 7 felonies.

Dole, Sununu and Smith are behind and it would take a major upset for them to win.

That is 7 seats, which takes us to 42.

To make matters worse, Chambliss and Coleman are barely ahead in their races.

This where we rebuild the conservative movement. We need to find a candidate who is a conservative through and through. Jindal is a great place to start, but here's another name for everyone. Steve Largent.

In 2002, he shockingly lost his race for governor over a cock fighting measure. It's my view he would have been our nominee in 2008 had he won back in 2002. The Oklahoma race is open in 2010 and I hope he runs and wins. Were he to do so, I think he could make a credible run in 2012.

Being an administrator is a great concession especially if you handling an established institution. However, the greatest responsibility is upon your shoulders. The Obama administration has just passed the 100 day mark, and it's been fraught with controversy and debate. Now he has some strong words to Corporate America. The bailout money that many companies received had better have been well spent, as he has made it clear that misuse of the cash advances made to start economic growth will be remembered, especially if anyone wants to line up for seconds. The President has stated that he does not like the governments' involvement in the private sector, since it detracts from the many other issues needing address. Short term loans to big business isn't what Obama would like to be dealing with.