Obama's court pick to be shaped by his experience

[babylonsister]

Obama's court pick to be shaped by his experience

By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer


WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama wants a Supreme Court nominee who is not only schooled in the law but passionate about how it affects people's lives, a scholar willing to decide a case from the heart when the constitutional answer is elusive.

In many ways, he is in pursuit of someone like himself.

Obama's background - community organizer in Chicago, president of the Harvard Law Review, instructor of constitutional law, member of the Senate during two Supreme Court confirmations - is driving his thinking about whom he will pick. He is not just setting the tone; he is engaged in the search.

"I don't think you'll see, in picking a Supreme Court nominee, that the president is going to look for a recommendation and agree or disagree with that," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in an interview about Obama's deliberations. "You have a president who understands and has studied many of these issues - even taught them. This is a process that will be decided ultimately by him."

Obama is deciding among a small group of candidates to replace Justice David Souter, who is retiring next month. The White House is not confirming any names but cautioning that no media organization has reported every person under serious review.

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[Cha]

1. A very different view of picking a Supreme

Court nominee than I've known a president to do.

[TheCoxwain]

2. How refreshing is it to have a president with an original view , that comes from

deep study and reflection ...


especially when you contrast him with the joker he replaced

[Honeycombe8]

3. You mean he wants a Mini-Me? nt

[firedupdem]

4. He'll pick a good person... n/t