Public Comment

I almost always find your editorials enlightening. However, I am aghast at your suggestion that Obama would be a superb Supreme Court justice and should maneuver himself into the position.

Not only would it be laughable for Obama to manipulate the nomination process by resigning in time to allow Biden to nominate him (Obama) to the court, as you suggested in your editorial of 2/12/16, but there is little likelihood that he would be confirmed unless the Democrats had taken control of the Senate in the prior election. Given the wholesale voter disenfranchisement and suppression that has taken place over the last decade by many Republican Secretaries of State (to little notice by Obama), that is an unlikely outcome of the 2016 election. I, as a lifelong Democrat, would be ashamed of the party for supporting such a maneuver. (I'm already ashamed of many of the actions of the Democratic Party - no need to add to my misery.) 

Moreover, having not gone to battle to get a really good nominee confirmed by the Senate in the intervening eleven months, Obama would have tossed yet another hunk of raw meat to the opposition wolves. Not that I expect Obama to use his bully pulpit to battle hard for a good nominee. That doesn't seem to be part of his game plan. Of course, any good nominee (or, for that matter, any Obama nominee) will be vehemently opposed by the current Senate, so might as well put up a nominee with really high qualifications and let the opposition try to defeat him/her on the merits. 

I CAN imagine a better choice. I strongly agree with Alan Grayson's viral petition recommending Elizabeth Warren as an excellent nominee to the court and think that her credentials for the position are superior to Obama's. She operates on strong principles (unlike Obama, in my opinion). She has a law degree, taught law for many years and has received many honors. She came out of a working class family and clearly understands the social and economic schisms in our country and has worked diligently to reduce them. She has a proven track record as a writer. She is a persuasive speaker. And, as you say, she is, "Everybody's favorite senator," (with the exception, of course, of Wall Street denizens and those who work diligently to maintain and expand the schisms).