# Obama and the Supreme Court vacancy **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 25, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115 "2016-02-25T17:59:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/1 "2016-02-25T17:59:37Z")
What if Obama plays along with the Republicans, lets them play Grab-Ass for months and Cock-Blocking him at every turn. Get them _right where he wants them…_ Then Hillary gets elected and _BINGO!_ She nominates Obama to the court! Set for life, Baby! No term limit there! He’s a lawyer, ain’t he? It could happen… couldn’t it? The sound you hear are people’s heads exploding. The shit my brain comes up with when I can’t sleep scares me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/2 "2016-02-25T18:09:38Z")
He would still need to be confirmed. Assuming the Senate does not radically change in composition, that would be a long uphill battle. He is a lawyer, although there is actually no requirement that a Supreme Court justice be a lawyer at all. But in current times even a cooperative Senate would be rather unlikely to confirm someone who was not a highly-accomplished litigator or respected legal scholar. ETA: or a judge on another court, obvs. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/3 "2016-02-25T18:13:28Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > play Grab-Ass for months and Cock-Blocking him That sounds like a sexy sexy time. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/4 "2016-02-25T18:21:50Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > What if Obama plays along with the Republicans, lets them play Grab-Ass for months and Cock-Blocking him at every turn. Get them _right where he wants them…_ > > Then Hillary gets elected and _BINGO!_ She nominates Obama to the court! Set for life, Baby! No term limit there! > > He’s a lawyer, ain’t he? It could happen… couldn’t it? The sound you hear are people’s heads exploding. > > The shit my brain comes up with when I can’t sleep scares me. 😃 This has been floated since Scalia died, so you’re not the first. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/5 "2016-02-25T18:21:53Z")
Not gonna happen. Obama doesn’t have the right background for the Supreme Court - he’s never been a judge at all and his lawyering days are long in the past. He may have a good academic knowledge of Constitutional law but that’s not the same as a career in issuing judgments. The man is smart but he’d be a weak justice. Plus the whole thing would be so blatantly political that even the Senate Democrats would be reluctant to play along, given that there are likely many more qualified candidates of varying liberal pedigree to choose from. And I suspect Obama will prefer to do the standard ex-President thing which is to make money from speaking engagements and books, start a charitable foundation and play a lot more golf. It’s an easier life all around. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/6 "2016-02-25T21:41:40Z")
I rather doubt Obama wants to be a Supreme Court Justice after serving 8 years as President. I believe I read he(and Clinton, Bush, and many predecessors) only get 3-4 hours of sleep per day when not on vacation. While they do not work all the time, they…kind of do. Being a Justice is huge amount of work as well. I mean, he could just do a half-ass job, but that would look terrible. He’d have to read briefs and write opinions. I’d rather semi-retire and work when I like. Make speeches for $$$, attend functions he cares about, and do what he likes. The Presidency would wipe me out in 2 months, let alone 8 years. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2016, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/7 "2016-02-25T22:22:49Z")
Obama is on the record saying he does not want to be on the Supreme Court. Hard to imagine any Senate confirming a nominee who has [said this](http://www.weeklystandard.com/obama-doesnt-want-to-be-supreme-court-justice-too-monastic-for-me/article/816497): > [@Barack Obama](#): > > “When I got out of law school, I chose not to clerk,” he said. “Partly because I was an older student, but partly because I don’t think I have the temperament to sit in a chamber and write opinions.” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/8 "2016-02-26T02:32:04Z")
Not particularly relevant to this thread, but I’ve been wanting to point out somewhere that for the Republicans to block appointment at this hour seems really stupid. It looks unlikely that Sanders will win against Hillary, and the Republican’s only candidate who is doing somewhat well against Trump is Rubio. And if Rubio can’t trump Trump, he’s certainly not going to win the big office. So we’re looking at either Hillary - a Democrat - or Trump - an insane faux-Republican centrist - putting in the next Justice. If Hillary is elected, then you’re basically right back in the same place, except she will have more clout as a president in her first term, rather than as someone who’s quickly reaching his expiration date and doesn’t have anything to bargain with. She’ll be able to nominate someone fairly hardcore lefty and push that person through to the office. You’ll end up with someone fairly left of center. If Trump is elected, then the people will probably vote more Democrats into the Legislative branch, to balance the Federal government against a “Republican” president. So now you have a crazy, non-legal, pro-choice centrist nominating someone to be approved by a Democratic Legislature. You’ll end up with a Justice who’s probably a little left of center. Right now, the Republicans have the strongest ability that they’ll have to push for a reasonable, centrist candidate. Holding off, they’re going to end up with someone leftist, and/or insane. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/9 "2016-02-26T15:04:23Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And I suspect Obama will prefer to do the standard ex-President thing which is to make money from speaking engagements and books, start a charitable foundation and play a lot more golf. It’s an easier life all around. I read somewhere the idea that no one actually wants to be president. Instead, they all want to a be a former president, which is more lucrative and fun without the scrutiny and responsibility. And you might remember that William Howard Taft went from the White House to the Supreme Court, where he served as chief justice. (He didn’t go directly there, though, but was appointed after a few years.) ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-and-the-supreme-court-vacancy/747115/10 "2016-02-26T15:27:52Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Being a Justice is huge amount of work as well. I mean, he could just do a half-ass job, but that would look terrible. He’d have to read briefs and write opinions. Eh, Reinquist had one foot in the grave his last years on the Court. He still seemed to manage. Honestly, I’ve never been convinced the job is that hard or takes some huge amount of prior experience. Arguments for and against are submitted by the parties to a case, you just chose the subset you find convincing, and occasionally maybe you have to throw those arguments into the first draft of an opinion and then let your law clerks write it up into something polished. And you get half the summer off!