by Laura Montana

Created on: May 12, 2010   Last Updated: May 13, 2010

President Obama has chosen Elena Kagan to replace Judge Paul Stevens in the Supreme Court.  Now the long process of vetting and the subsequent hearings will begin.

If approved, Ms. Kagan along with Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg will bring the total number of women on the Supreme Court to a historic count of three.  She is only the fourth woman to be nominated to the highest court and if confirmed will be the 112th justice to serve.

The truly big questions are not what she will be, but who she is and what she believes.  Pro-lifers want to know where she stands on abortion.  Others are questioning her sexual orientation and her position on gay marriage.  Her college essays are already surfacing and bearing scrutiny. 

Her decision as the president of Harvard to ban military recruiters because she felt their “don't ask, don't tell” policy to be discriminatory has once again come under fire.

Upon learning of Ms. Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court, David Greenberg, professor of history and journalism at Rutgers University said, “I think it's a home run.  She's young, liberal, eminently qualified and personally appealing.”

President Obama has been acquainted with Ms. Kagan since he served with her on the faculty of the University of Chicago Law School in the early 90's, he describes her as "one  of the nation's foremost legal  minds." He introduced her as 'my friend.'

Why was Ms Kagan chosen?  At age 50, she was the youngest of the contenders for Justice Stevens' seat.  That means she should serve longer, extending Obama's influence by years.  By choosing a second woman to serve on the court, President Obama strengthens his appeal to voting women. 

President Obama also believes “That  understanding of law, not as an intellectual exercise or words on a page, but as it affects the lives of ordinary people, has animated every step of Elena’s career.” 

Although Ms. Kagan has limited judicial experience, she is in good company with at least ten other justices who also came to court with little experience.  That group includes Louis Brandeis and Charles Evans Hughes.

Ms. Kagan is not without experience or responsibility.  She holds degrees from  Princeton, Oxford and Harvard.  She served as the dean of the Harvard Law School and became the 45th Solicitor General in 2009.  She also served in the Clinton White House.

“We have some Republicans who would automatically oppose anybody who  was nominated,” Mr. Leahy said. “And the president could nominate Moses the Lawgiver.” Unfortunately, that is true and may cloud the process of appointing Ms. Kagan. 

Whatever the outcome of Ms. Kagan's nomination, the debates will prove interesting.  Let's hope our senators from both sides of the aisle will put aside partisanship and do what is best for America rather than only what is best for their own party.

Source:
BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer

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