Replacing Justice Stevens - The First Lady?

There isn't any doubt in my mind that the replacement for Justice John Paul Stevens should be a woman. Women make up half the population anyway so why shouldn't the court reflect the population. Besides, the Court has been run by white men basically since the beginning of time and has never, ever had a man who wasn't of European descent or African-American. This is a shoddy record.

Nevertheless, the same rules suggested in my entry on replacing Justice Stevens with a man should apply if President Obama nominates a woman: intellectual astute and sharp, young, progressive, and to add - a person willing to confront the conservative bloc on the Court. Here's one no one has even considered:

Michelle Obama

Don't laugh. And don't worry; he won't do it. But still, it is nice to dream.

President Obama needs to shake that place at its foundation. Nominate the First Lady. Is she intellectual sharp? Certainly. Is she progressive? Sure. Is she willing to confront conservatism? I am certain she will put Roberts and Alito and Thomas in their place when the moment arrives.

Democrats are probably afraid of her because they think she is a divisive choice. I guess I should remind everyone that no matter who Obama picks, it will be a divisive choice. The GOP is committed to division and obstruction. They don't govern; they wait for campaign donations. Anyone who governs offends them because it means they have to actually do something.

But Mr. Obama says he is committed to someone who understands ordinary people and how the law affects them. His wife doesn't meet that profile? Mrs. Obama does and that is the point. Nominate her. The GOP will be paralyzed again with fear. She also will let Roberts and Alito know that they will be challenged on all of their outlandish views. Throw in the fact that she is in her mid-40s and we are talking 35 years on the Court.

But he won't do it, and she wouldn't accept. Mrs. Obama loves her children and her freedom (within the confines of power). She also wants to go back to Chicago. I am sure of it. It is still nice to dream.