My SCOTUS Pick

Well, I have a better chance of getting the Supreme court nomination right this time, since there seem to be only two major candidates left in the running. If the media's sources have been correct, then the only potential nominees on the table are Samuel Alito and Michael Luttig. While I think that both would make wonderful justices, I would preferably have Luttig. I like Luttig over Alito because, based on what I've read, Luttig has a more aggressive temperament. The words that seem to come up in reading about him are "dogged" and "determined".

While Alito is a solid conservative, my reading indicates that he is very genial and a really nice guy. There is nothing wrong with that; but those qualities are embodied in John Roberts, and I think that the next nominee should provide a temperamental (though not philosophical) counterpoint to the new Chief Justice. Being a Supreme Court justice is not about being a nice guy, it is about getting the truth at any cost and vigorously protecting the integrity of our Constitution. Michael Luttig seems like the type of guy who doesn't take any krud from anyone, and that is a good quality when you have to face the best lawyers in the country every day.

It think that the President will also see these qualities in Judge Luttig. Hence, I will break with conventional wisdom and make the following prediction based on the above arguments and my gut feeling:

MICHAEL LUTTIG WILL BE NOMINATED TO THE SUPREME COURT.

I will certainly admit that I could be wrong on this, Alito is generally considered the front-runner and could very well be the nominee. However, Luttig has been getting an increasing amount of buzz over the weekend. Alito was considered the the clear-cut favorite on Friday, but now he is placed on an even par with Luttig in most articles. This, to me, indicates that the President may be leaning towards Luttig.

The President also seems to like surprises, so he could nominate someone other than Alito or Luttig. If that happens, I would watch Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown, Karen Williams, Edith Jones, Emilio Garza, Michael McConnell, Maura Corrigan, and Consuelo Callahan. I would be very pleased with any of these other than McConnell and Callahan.

All of that said, I'm still sticking with Luttig as my pick (with Alito as s the second most likely). Good luck to all potential conservative nominees.

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