Some Possible Supreme Court Nominees

AP reports Some possible Supreme Court nominees if Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist steps down:

• James Harvie Wilkinson III, appointed to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., by President Reagan in 1984. He has built a solidly conservative record.
• Larry Thompson, deputy attorney general and the Bush administration's highest-ranking black law-enforcement official until he quit in 2003. He is general counsel at PepsiCo.
• John Roberts, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia since 2003 and former Rehnquist clerk.
• Michael McConnell, a judge on the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A respected conservative legal scholar, he enjoys bipartisan support in the academic community.
• J. Michael Luttig, a Texas native who worked in the Justice Department during the first Bush administration. He was named to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 1991.
• Samuel Alito Jr., a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. He is nicknamed "Scalito" because he has views like Scalia.
• Edith Jones, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans and former general counsel for the Texas Republican Party.
• Emilio Miller Garza, a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. President Bush's father considered the Hispanic judge a Supreme Court prospect.
• Theodore B. Olson, Bush's solicitor general until last summer. He represented Bush in the 2000 Bush v. Gore case at the Supreme Court.

Red @ScaredMonkeys blogged I believe President Bush will nominate Ted Olson, former Solicitor General as his first choice for the Supreme Court.

TalkLeft blogger Jeralyn Merritt blogged I predict it's down to three choices:

• Former Solicitor General Ted Olson
• Former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson
• 10th Circuit Judge Michael McConnell

Of the three, I hope he picks Larry Thompson, whom I know and trust,

Well that takes Larry off the list

an opinion shared by many defense lawyers. But I think Bush will pick Ted Olson, the arch conservative and his lawyer in the Supreme Court in the Bush v. Gore case. Olsen has very strong ties to Richard Mellon Scaife, and is a staunch member of the New Theocracy.

I guess that means he believes in God, something feared and hated by the Secular Extreme Left

The Denver Post has this profile of Michael McConnell today. Since the Senate easily approved his confirmation to the 10th Circuit, it might be hard for them to filibuster him now for the Supreme Court. We're going to get a conservative on the Court no matter what, but there's no reason for it to be an extremist like Ted Olson.

Boston.com reported Liberals hope Bush will fill his first vacancy with a centrist, a consensus candidate, instead of one who would please right-wing Republicans who were instrumental in the president's re-election. But they acknowledge that may be wishful thinking.

Personally I would like to see him nominate Priscilla Owen. After all, we have a signed agreement where the Dems have admitted she is not so extreme that she should be filibustered. <grin>