Powerful arguments back Granholm for Supreme Court
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Laura Berman
She's on all the lists, long and short, like Bounty on a Costco shopping list
Her single stint as a sitting judge -- presiding in the speedily truncated Kwame Kilpatrick mayoral removal trial -- inspired murmurs of approval: She's got perfect pitch for presiding.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm is being eyed, seriously, by President Barack Obama for the U.S. Supreme Court.
While handicapping Supreme Court nominees is about as scientific as picking the winner of the Preakness, there are some powerful arguments for the president to choose her.
1. She's not a nerd. The president has said he's looking for "a quality of empathy, a quality of understanding."
While that preference doesn't preclude a legal scholar, it seems to tilt toward Granholm, who combines real-life experience in a state overwhelmed by realities, with imposing legal credentials.
Like all of the other names being bandied about, Granholm comes with a battery of credentials, including a degree from Harvard Law School, where she was the editor of the Civil Rights/Civil Liberties Law Review. Granholm's experience as the state's attorney general made her the state's chief law enforcement official and gave her experience rendering formal legal opinions.
2. She's term-limited, and her departure could be opportune for the Democrats and, especially, for Lt. Gov. John Cherry, who might seem more gubernatorial if he occupies the office.
History students take note: The state's longest-serving governor, Bill Milliken, moved into the governor's office after Gov. George Romney moved to President Richard Nixon's cabinet in 1969. He'd been a lightly regarded lieutenant governor before that.
3. Granholm has a steep learning curve, and she's not an ideologue. If she becomes a surprising force on the Supreme Court, bet on those surprises to be welcome ones.
Plenty of Supreme Court nominees have been derailed during the Senate confirmation process. But Granholm would appear as a veteran of three brutal state-wide campaigns, already scoured by the opposition.. An appearance on The Dating Game? That's fun fodder, not derailment.
Even Granholm's open record on abortion could increase her appeal to Obama and the Senate, even among Republicans. Although Granholm has been staunchly pro-choice, she diligently enforced the law as attorney general during Gov. John Engler's administration.
Unlike Justice David Souter, a Reagan pick who was presumed conservative but emerged as a full-blown liberal in his two decades on the court, Granholm hasn't hidden her world view. Like Sandra Day O'Connor, who had been a politician and elected judge, she has the temperament and people skills to become a moderating, persuasive force on a court that's been deeply, ideologically split.