Bill Clinton for Chief Justice

[BOSSHOG]

At the very least, the nomination alone will put limbaugh back into rehab; push Wyrich deeper in his hole and make lil ricky santorum feel more at ease going to the kennel.

[high density]

1. He wants to be Secretary General at the UN (NM)

[fob]

10. Really? That story seemed like a freeper-bait leak type bs report.

You know, something to get bush*s base's panties one more twist.

From what I've read BC couldn't be UN Sec Gen. First of all Asia is up next to provide a candidate for the post and secondly permanent members aren't allowed as Sec Gen. Not that I don't think it's a great idea, but Chief Justice William Jefferson Clinton has a freeper-skull-exploding ring to it!

[Amigust]

17. For freepers, Clinton as Chief Justice is another Democrats banning

the Bible non-issue.

[Amigust]

15. Amb. Richard Holbrooke says tradition doesn't allow it.

"there is longstanding tradition which is not about to be changed, that the Secretary-General cannot come from one of the five permanent members of the Security Council . . . there is zero chance that he can be a Secretary-General of the UN"

Randi Rhodes 10-22 interview (3.56 Mb mp3)
http://www.randirhodesarchives.com/

[high density]

19. Thanks for clearing that up

I heard that on some talking head show and I guess whoever brought it up had no clue what they were talking about.

[demokatgurrl]

33. I hope not- not enough for Clinton. He would be wasted

there. I like him doing what he's doing now or, if he must join the administration, something big like Sec of State.

[LuminousX]

2. Giving Clinton a Lifetime position in the gov't would be awesome

[Dob Bole]

3. Honestly, I would rather have a justice more liberal than Clinton...

Some kind of diplomatic position would behoove Clinton...especially since he's going to be the last President to have lifetime Secret Service detail.

[Steelangel]

5. Agreed. I rather to have Clinton as Secretary General at the UN..

[TaleWgnDg]

6. Cuomo, reportedly, said "no" . . .

edited to add: Mario, that is. Mario Cuomo (as opposed to his kid)

[TaleWgnDg]

4. oh, wow, I've been secretly wishing for this to happen since Clinton

left office . . . indeed! What an outstanding U.S. Supreme Court justice -- whether an Associate Justice or Chief Justice -- Clinton would make! And about time too, way over-time for a moderate-liberal to take the bench of this country's highest court.





. . . . . . . . .


.

[nostalgicaboutmyfutr]

7. Clinton/Cuomo....won't happen....

clinton will never be the UN SG....nor any american...it will always go to a no Sec. Counsel country, likely a 3rd world country...

I think that Cuomo, for all his genius, willl not accept a nod to the SCOTUS as he has some baggage that would then become full knowledge....

But there are other things they both can do...look at the work of th Jimmy Carter...

[TwentyFive]

8. Bill Clinton - a great mind and a great heart - perfect for the CJ-SC

[AnIndependentTexan]

9. Another suggestion Al Gore for Chief Justice

[Dob Bole]

14. Now that's more like it...

I'm not a fan of Al Gore's personality. He kind of rubs me the wrong way.

Perfect for the U.S. supreme court, though. He has the legal expertise, and I'll get to read about him without seeing him.

[Bake]

24. Ummm, was Al ever a lawyer?

That's sort of a prereq for the SCOTUS, I think.

Bake

[maxsolomon]

11. didn't he have his law license suspended?

that sounds like a pretty dry job for the big dog.

let him be sec. state where he'd could get palestinian statehood done. that's step #1 for ending islamic terror.

[Bake]

26. He was "disbarred" from the SC bar

But he did not give up his law license (if I recall correctly), which would have been issued by the state of Arkansas.

It would actually be poetic justice for him to be appointed CJ. Might be a little dull for him, though.

Bake

[DaveinMD]

30. he tried to get a peace deal brokered

Arafat turned him down.

[cali]

12. What a lousy idea.

I wish people would stop with the lionizing of Clinton. I found him likeable, entertaining, a superb politician and a pretty mediocre president. He squandered the opportunities given him. I don't want to see him as a Justice or as Secretary General. I don't want to see any American as Secretary General.
Go ahead, flame me for not bowing at the Clinton altar.

[BootinUp]

25. You really didn't need to give us permission, lol.

What squandered opportunities are you talking about?

You must mean when he constantly whipped the repukes asses, he didn't walk over there to the hill and laugh directly in their faces. Is that the squandered opportunities?

[cali]

28. No, I was thinking

more of health care. Love Hillary, but she shouldn't have been so front and center. In the beginning of the administration they rushed into things without much success. And yes, I sure do wish he'd kept his pants zipped and not lied.

[BootinUp]

29. Every administration has its trials

less of them have the successes that his did, especially given the congress he had to work with and the general political mood against government programs, which was not his fault. But you're entitled to your opinion of course.

[DaveinMD]

32. the mistake

was promoting NAFTA before health care reform.

[genius]

13. I'd rather have Johnny Cochran there

[The Chronicler]

16. Eliot Spitzer

[Lavender Brown]

35. No... he has to stay in New York

We need him to be our next Governor. :)

[nickinSTL]

18. not the best choice for SC

Don't get me wrong, I love Clinton. Great President.

But, he wouldn't be ideal for the SC.

Despite what Bush would undoubtedly do given the chance to name a Justice, the best choice for a justice is someone non-political (as much as that's possible) with a record of interpreting the law fairly and in a non-partisan manner.

Clinton is absolutely political. He is purely a political animal. He'd be great serving the US in some other fashion (working to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem, for example) but not as a SC Justice.

[rockydem]

20. Do you really think he would want it?

The life of a Justice is dry. It's also somewhat non-political. I don't think I would want him there. I'd much rather have him at rallies, etc...

[rullery]

21. Precedent: William Howard Taft was Chief Justice

of the U.S. Supreme Court after serving as President. I think this is an excellent idea, and would make good use of Clinton's intellect and experience.

[dolstein]

Taft didn't exactly distinguish himself

NT

[atre]

34. Right. Taft is actually the least influential C.J. ever

excepting the pre-Marshall era.

[saracat]

36. And Clinton is no Taft.

BTW , Everyone forgets that Clinton was a constitutional Law Professor. And he wasn't dibarred.He was temporarily suspended from practicing law for five years. The time factor is almost up.

[BootinUp]

27. I agree he would be great, IF he could be confirmed. n/t

[dolstein]

22. That would be a disastrous choice

Kerry ought to take the high road by appointing judges to the federal court who have impeccable legal credentials (Clinton hasn't practiced law since he was Arkansas attorney general nearly 30 years ago), a nonpartisan background, and a firm commitment to enforcing Supreme Court precedent in a fair and impartial manner.

[saracat]

37. Non partisan background?

There is no such thing, otherwise there wouldn't be any nominees! And We have to have them partisan to us!

[tomfodw]

23. Senate will never vote to confirm

Besides which, he surrendered his license to practice law.

He doesn't have the judicial temperament, anyway. He's never been any kind of a lawyer since leaving law school. Not the best use of him.

[atre]

31. Is there anyone here who has gone to law school...

who thinks this is a good idea?

Nope? I didn't think so. Let me see if I can explain why...

In law school, there are a few different niches of people. One includes top-ranking students: the ones who devote their lives to the law; they eat it, they breathe it, they live it. While these may not be the best and brighest among youur class, they are your best and brightest legal minds: they can determine and apply the law to even the most complex set of facts.

At the bottom of the class, you have your politically-inclined students. These people hardly study at all. They are much more concerned with image than academics, and thus spend their time trying to obtain name recognition and notoriety. When they do pursue a legal career, it is often a short term with the D.A.'s office or with some very small firm... whatever they do legally, it is a mere stepping stone their ultimate destination: politics. Clinton and Kerry, God bless them, both fall in this group.

From among those two groups (admittedly there are others)... who do you want on the Court?

The people here who know nothing about the law apparently want to sex up the position by putting in some people with whom they are familiar. This isn't how things are done. I can assure you that Kerry is not so glib about the importance of a Supreme Court appointment.

[saracat]

38. Again, top ranking student

and constitutional law professor as well as Attorney General of Arkansas. Clinton is more than qualified. I am not sure he would want it, but you never know. And I can't think of another jurist I would rather have protecting the rights of the underdog!

[rullery]

39. There might be some difficulty getting Clinton confirmed

by the Senate, I agree. However if we take control of the Senate this election, it might be possible. After all, Clinton has served two terms as our President! As for his being political, what would you call a Supreme Court that presumed to take over the election in 2000? The more conservative justices ignored the popular vote which Gore won by half a million votes, and gave the election to Bush by a five-to-four decision! I can think of nothing more suitable than for Scalia and Thomas to spend the next 20 - 25 years on the court chaffing under the leadership of Bill Clinton! As for the other three conservative justices, Rehnquist, O'Connor and Kennedy will all retire within the next few years.