I tend to agree on most of the points made by Eric Alterman in this article on The Daily Beast- one of my favorite news sources, and one of the few I read every day. Obama has picked someone who he knows will most likely be confirmed, who he knows he can trust (since they've known each other for quite a long time), and who he knows will bring very little scandal to the process. The fact that the biggest story concerning her is speculation on her sexual orientation is something that Obama was banking on. Personally, I feel that her behavior regarding military recruiters on Harvard's campus, as well as her previous criticism of the Supreme Court confirmation process, is something that should be given far more media attention than her sexuality. Another recent issue to come to light was that she urged President Clinton in 1997 to support a ban on late-term abortions. But while many extreme leftist liberals are seeing this as a telling sign of her stance on abortion, the memo she sent to Clinton was more about the politics of the decision than the ethics.
Glenn Greenwald wrote a piece on Salon.com a few days ago, completely bashing Kagan in every way he could imagine (I don't often read Salon; I find it to be, comparatively, poorly written and badly sourced). Greenwald states that he "will keep an open mind", but he very obviously has made a definite decision about Kagan already.
As someone who would define herself as a moderate liberal (not a liberal moderate, and there is definitely a difference) I think Kagan is a good choice. I wish she had served as a judge before, since I feel that prior judicial experience is important for someone being considered for the highest court in the land. But from what I've read of her opinions and the way in which she sticks to the letter of the law, I think Kagan is a solid appointee.
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