By Tom Raum
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama faces a classic political dilemma in picking a new Supreme Court justice.
He must decide whether to nominate someone liberal enough to carry on John Paul Stevens’ legacy on issues such as abortion rights and the death penalty or move toward a more moderate candidate in hopes of winning enough Republican support to avoid a debilitating Senate confirmation battle.
His decision is likely to dominate the political landscape this summer, just months before midterm elections that will determine who controls Congress.
A bitter fight threatens Democratic hopes of focusing on job creation. It also would be a major distraction to Obama as he tries to push ahead on other parts of his agenda, including education and energy legislation.
If the president chooses an outright liberal nominee, it might help rally his Democratic base — crucial for the party in midterm elections — but would surely provoke a knockdown fight with Republicans. At the same time, if he picked someone less objectionable to Republicans, it could further alienate dispirited liberal Democrats who complain that Obama sold out on elements of the health care overhaul. And it might not even work in attracting Republican votes.
As the anti-government tea party movement revs up, rank-and-file Republicans are sounding more energized, more eager to court the party’s base — and possibly more likely to portray anyone Obama picks for the Supreme Court as too liberal.
Stevens, the strongest liberal voice on a conservative-leaning court, said Friday he will step down when the court finishes its work in late June or early July.
Obama praised Stevens as an “impartial guardian” of the law, and said he would move quickly to name a nominee. “It is in the best interests of the Supreme Court to have a successor appointed and confirmed before the next term begins,” Obama told reporters in the Rose Garden.
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