Obama’s pick for the supreme court is unlikely to be approved. But the political beating he’ll receive will make Republicans look bad – and that’s the pointIn ordinary times,you would expect a president like Barack Obama to appoint a young, liberal judge for the US supreme court. But these aren’t ordinary times. On Wednesday, and Obama announced his pick: Merrick Garland. The 63-year-customary Chief Judge of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals is older than many expected the nominee to be – and more moderate. In other political circumstances,the choice of Garland would be strange. But these are not ordinary times.
With the exception of Harriet Miers – the quickly withdrawn George W Bush nominee – the final supreme court nominee older than 55 was Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993. The reason lifetime appointments to the supreme court bear been trending younger is obvious: in general, it means that a presidents constitutional values will get a longer period of representation on the court. Most of the justices on the typical shortlist of potential nominees are significantly younger than Garland. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com