# Obama a Surpreme Court Justice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 31, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583 "2013-12-31T19:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/21 "2014-01-01T16:29:27Z")
Law degree notwithstanding, I think Obama would be one of the least qualified SCOTUS nominees you could find. (A) He’s continued the practice of indefinite detention without trial for terrorists. (B) He’s escalated drone strikes (aka assassination) well beyond anything Bush did. Both of these points would suggest that Obama doesn’t put much stock in basic concepts of human rights or Due Process of Law. I’d sooner see George W Bush on the Supreme Court, and that’s setting the bar pretty damn low. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/22 "2014-01-01T17:22:26Z")
I think it’s unlikely but possible that some future President might appoint Obama to the Supreme Court. It all depends on the political dynamic at the time, and the kind of person the President wants and thinks has a decent chance of getting past the Senate. Bill Clinton came very close to appointing then-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo to the court, but didn’t when Cuomo kept changing his mind about whether or not he wanted the job (see Jeffrey Toobin’s _The Nine_ for a near-comical account of Cuomo’s indecisiveness). Cuomo had never held any judicial post before. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/23 "2014-01-01T17:48:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > There’s Elena Kagan. She never served as a judge prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court and her career as a lawyer was pretty minimal. While she has a law degree, her career was mostly as a law professor and political staffer. Yes, I meant to say something about that. She might be the apex of the “short track record” trend for nominees, but she still has a lot more legal experience as an academic and as Solicitor General than Obama does. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/24 "2014-01-01T17:52:31Z")
This earlier thread might be of interest: [Qualifications For A Supreme Court Justice? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=686406) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/25 "2014-01-01T18:40:49Z")
If Obama really wanted to pursue this. He would need to serve first as a Federal District judge. Primarily to clearly show his commitment and to gain experience. Get his hands dirty and get back into the real world. After a few years then a Supreme Court Nomination would be more reasonable. Would a modern ex President take a real job? Give up that world of chartered air flights, paid speeches, tv appearances, and easy money? All the butt kissers and hand shakers telling them how great they are? It seems unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Osiris\_the\_1st](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de0a6/32.png) [@Osiris\_the\_1st](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osiris_the_1st)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/26 "2014-01-02T17:07:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > If Obama really wanted to pursue this. He would need to serve first as a Federal District judge. Primarily to clearly show his commitment and to gain experience. Get his hands dirty and get back into the real world. > > After a few years then a Supreme Court Nomination would be more reasonable. > > Would a modern ex President take a real job? Give up that world of chartered air flights, paid speeches, tv appearances, and easy money? All the butt kissers and hand shakers telling them how great they are? It seems unlikely. I agree that a modern ex-President would likely not want the job. Though I disagree with some who said that President Obama would be the least qualified candidate ever nominated. That said, any potential nominee should probaly have some judicial experiance. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/27 "2014-01-03T04:16:31Z")
I’d say he’s well qualified in terms of credentials. But his administration’s record in front of the court has been pretty dismal, which indicates that he might not understand the Constitution as well as his credentials would suggest. Or he does understand, and places politics above the Constitution, which is just as big a problem. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/28 "2014-01-03T05:38:16Z")
I’m trying to think how to put it diplomatically…I guess I’d say that it’s not utterly unthinkable to the point of outright mockery. When Obama became the first black student editor of the Harvard Law Review, he was slobbered over by numerous federal circuit justices as a law clerk prospect, and would have been highly recommended to a Supreme Court clerkship so long as he managed to not start any electrical fires or knock over any priceless vases. That’s one of the things that made his decision to turn down clerkships in favor of being a community organizer so jaw droppingly crazy at the time. Not just any federal benches, either, he was actively sought by the Chief Justice of the D.C. Circuit. The D.C. Circuit is the unofficial “feeder” circuit to the Supremes, and four of the nine current Supreme Court Justices come from that circuit, so clerking there is no small thing. Clerking in the Supreme Court itself is no small thing either, six Justices originally served as Supreme Court law clerks, including Kagen, Breyer, Roberts and Rehnquist. If there were such a thing as a road map on to how to get on the federal bench and maybe, just _maybe_ on the Supreme Court, Obama had one on his glove compartment. It wasn’t completely abandoned, either; at least two op ed pieces, I think in the New Yorker and either the NYT or the Washington Post, had Hilary Clinton naming Obama as her first Supreme Court appointment if she got the nomination. That would have been much easier then that it would be now, of course, since Obama now has his presidency to overcome. Even with that, I still think it could be possible with time, maybe in, say, 2026. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/29 "2014-01-03T07:23:06Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Law degree notwithstanding, I think Obama would be one of the least qualified SCOTUS nominees you could find. > > (A) He’s continued the practice of indefinite detention without trial for terrorists. > > (B) He’s escalated drone strikes (aka assassination) well beyond anything Bush did. > > Both of these points would suggest that Obama doesn’t put much stock in basic concepts of human rights or Due Process of Law. This. Obama should be in court as a defendant, not a judge. And that’s better than he’s given others. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/30 "2014-01-03T15:28:22Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > But hey, there’d be no filibuster! (The recent Senate rule changes that got rid of filibusters of nominees excluded SCOTUS nominees - so there could still be one). ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/31 "2014-01-03T20:48:50Z")
It would get in the way of making Michelle Senator-for-Life from the great state of Illinois. 😉 It’s pretty clear that the O man likes being a celebrity. As Pravnik noted, if O wanted to spend his life grinding it out on the bench, he would have done that. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/32 "2014-01-03T21:15:41Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > This. Obama should be in court as a defendant, not a judge. And that’s better than he’s given others. Then you must think George W. Bush should also be prosecuted for the same crimes, since the post is predicated on Obama continuing Bush’s policies. Do you? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2014, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/33 "2014-01-03T23:59:09Z")
Ah, you gotta love lawfare, the international law junkies’ attempt to resuscitate Kellogg-Briand by other means. If you can’t outlaw war, just outlaw all effective war tactics,and you accomplish the same thing! Please, is there ANY head of government since WWII who has waged war 100% legally? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/34 "2014-01-04T06:35:59Z")
> [@lance\_strongarm](#): > > Then you must think George W. Bush should also be prosecuted for the same crimes, since the post is predicated on Obama continuing Bush’s policies. Do you? Of course I do. > [@adaher](#): > > Ah, you gotta love lawfare, the international law junkies’ attempt to resuscitate Kellogg-Briand by other means. If you can’t outlaw war, just outlaw all effective war tactics,and you accomplish the same thing! No, I want to hold people responsible for violating laws outlawing _ineffective_ war tactics, like bombing the wrong fucking people. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2014, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/35 "2014-01-04T08:08:13Z")
If you’re referring to GWB and Iraq, the UN already blew that one by approving the occupation after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/36 "2014-01-05T03:33:12Z")
May I suggest we limit this thread to actually discussing Obama as a possible future Supreme Court nominee? ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/37 "2014-01-06T14:48:05Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Of course I do. Thanks, just making sure. “Of course” is not a given - there are plenty of people out there who are quite partisan about that. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/38 "2014-01-06T14:49:09Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Ah, you gotta love lawfare, the international law junkies’ attempt to resuscitate Kellogg-Briand by other means. If you can’t outlaw war, just outlaw all effective war tactics,and you accomplish the same thing! So you don’t think terrorism should be outlawed? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/39 "2014-01-06T14:51:24Z")
First, let’s have an actual international law regime in place, then we can worry about what laws it will pass and how it will enforce them. But yes, I think any deliberate attacks on civilians should be outlawed. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583/40 "2014-01-06T14:56:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > But yes, I think any deliberate attacks on civilians should be outlawed. So you agree with Grumman. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-a-surpreme-court-justice/677583.md?page=3)