"Kagan Day 2: A TV Star Is Born"

[Cha]

<snip>

"Elena Kagan took a firm position before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday: She is in favor of televising Supreme Court oral arguments. "I think it will be a terrific thing," she said. (Though she later fretted, "It would mean I'd have to get my hair done more often, Senator.")

It's easy to understand why. Simply put, this squat, henny-penny little woman has TV-star quality: mobile features, a mischievous smile, all-but-unshakeable poise, and an infectious giggle. (I once read a theory that people who look like Muppets do best on television. Can't you picture Elena Kagan singing "O is for Opinion" with Oscar the Grouch?)

Kagan has been able, seemingly without trying, to dominate a room full of silver-haired senators. That's an accomplishment, of course: but what's more impressive is that she's doing it without breaking a sweat. By mid-afternoon, the atmosphere in the hearings had turned punchy, with nominee and interlocutors trading affectionate quips. (Sen. Graham: "Where were you on Christmas?" Kagan: "Like all Jews, I was probably in a Chinese restaurant." ) Not even a great white shark could detect blood in the water in Hart Senate Building 216.

Kagan's approach is straightforward: Talk about what the court does, how it takes cases, and how law is applied, in rigorous but general terms. Asked what passions fuel her career, she answered "the rule of law." When Senator John Kyl (R-AZ) asked her what values or beliefs she would consider when the law provided no clear answers, she was firm: "It's law all the way down."

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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/06/kagan-day-2-a-tv-star-is-born/58931/

[Robb]

1. Nice. nt

[Jennicut]

2. She really won me over. Likable and intelligent.

[Hekate]

3. She's great; she uses verbal judo to disarm bullies--anything from humor to incisive intellect...

I'm looking forward to seeing her join the Wise Latina on the bench. I'll bet Sotomayor and Ginsburg will be rejoicing.

Hekate