Tomorrow's NYT will show a front page picture of 7th Circuit jurist, Diane Wood of Chicago.
Judge Wood has been profiled as a high persuader in the NYT and that could do VERY well for her chances for the Supreme Court.
In particular the article looks at those who are arguing for Diane Wood to be on the court and in particular Richard Posner, one of the most conservative and most brilliant judges in the country defends her.
NYT on Diane Wood
There have been articles on Diane Wood in favor of her nomination, in particular Glenn Greenwald (whom I disagree with from time to time, in some cases on executive power and others on campaign finance) wrote a glowing recommendation on her.
There have been many prominent liberals endorsing her as a pick although I wasn't particularly sold on her.
She was very well qualified, she had great record, I found it hard to believe she could get confirmed however. She used to work for NOW and for other Women's rights groups and although this is not disqualifying, in this day and age with the political temperatures running high this would be a prime cause to prevent her confirmation. Hence without high profile defenders, I didn't think she'd be able to make it.
I have no doubts any more. Richard Posner, a fellow judge on the court and perhaps one of the MOST brilliant legal scholars EVER defends her on abortion. I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen him cited on cases, as a conservative says this about abortion and Diane Wood:
Yet Judge Posner, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, has forged an intriguing alliance with Judge Wood on abortion. He, too, objected to the statutes because they lacked an exception for the health of the pregnant woman.
"I thought it was unconstitutional," he said in an interview. "I was on the same side as Judge Wood, and I don’t consider myself a raving liberal."
She is golden now. I think Obama has FANTASTIC cover to pick her and better yet, he'll have Richard Posner defending her from the republicans. You couldn't have better protection from any nominee.
As another indication of how much she would be accepted, she's friendly with SCALIA:
Among her colleagues was Antonin Scalia; his children proved to be reliable baby sitters for the new professor until he joined the Court of Appeals in Washington a year later. Judge Posner was already on the Seventh Circuit, but Judge Easterbrook’s office was just down the hall. She and Judge Easterbrook sparred regularly at faculty luncheons; on several occasions, he asked Judge Wood to grill him in preparation for oral arguments before the Supreme Court.