Diane Wood, Supreme Court Contender, Interviewed By Obama And Joe Biden

President Obama and Vice President Biden both met separately today with potential Supreme Court pick Diane Wood, a source with knowledge of the conversations told the Huffington Post.

A federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Wood is one of the leading candidates to replace outgoing Justice John Paul Stevens. She is widely regarded as the most progressive member of Obama's short list and was floated last year as a choice to fill another vacancy before the president settled on Sonia Sotomayor.

Obama has now met personally with at least four potential SCOTUS nominees, including Solicitor General Elena Kagan last Friday, and federal appeals judges Merrick Garland and Sidney Thomas earlier.

A White House official told the Huffington Post on Tuesday that "there were serious conversations with other potential nominees" as well, but refused to answer whether those conversations were face to face.

As for the timing of a choice, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs caused a stir on Monday when he told reporters that he could not rule out the president announcing his pick this week. But sources close to the administration say that the White House is still finalizing the vetting and nomination processes and the likelihood remains that Obama will unveil his choice sometime early next week.

Comments

[Zapatista]

02:31 PM on 05/07/2010

Diane Wood > Elena Kagan

[LemonMeringue]

08:46 PM on 05/05/2010

I hope Diane Wood is the one. She's perfect in every way.

[reddflagg]

01:47 AM on 05/06/2010

She is better than Kagan, but that isn't saying much, and she isn't a progressive on issues of economic justice. Of those being considered only Pamela Karlan is a progressive. But I halfway wonder if Wood isn't the choice and if Kagan wasn't a dodge the way Harriet Myers was for Pres. Trainwreck, so the nominee who comes after will look better and more acceptable by default.

[BlueMrsKitty]

06:25 PM on 05/05/2010

I have heard nothing but great praise of Judge Wood from a friend who clerked for her. Good luck!

[Puller58]

05:26 PM on 05/05/2010

Put a pair of glasses on her and she'd look like Linda Greenhouse of SCOTUS reportage.

[nThenwhat]

01:58 PM on 05/05/2010

Wood seems like a very good choice. Sign her up.

[kevinw]

01:39 PM on 05/05/2010

The key question here is , Is this a real interview for the job or the progessive equivalent of an NFL team interviewing a minority for a head coachng job. You do it as a coutesy so the progressives see you really are concerned with their input, then appoint the conservative nominee.

[olivia]

03:06 PM on 05/05/2010

Obviously only one will be the nominee. Maybe the others are the decoys.

[pjburke]

11:28 AM on 05/06/2010

Not a disagreement... but every once in a while, a person like the Pittsburgh Steelers' Mike Tomlin does get the job. Perhaps this will be one of those times?

[JonathanTroy]

01:29 PM on 05/05/2010

I like Judge Wood. Best of luck to her.

[olivia]

01:07 PM on 05/05/2010

Mr. President, do not waste this opportunity for America. Please.

[confused most times]

01:02 PM on 05/05/2010

I'm sure that we will be told time and again that her philosophy is well within
'The Political Mainstream'

[foldingtime]

12:29 PM on 05/05/2010

The first 2 words that come to mind when thinking of Diane Wood are "reasonable" and "academic." She is a very thorough thinker. Just watch this video of her addressing the issue of immigration. She is very much measured and careful in her wording, but, to my mind at least, she is never boring.
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/281816-1

[olivia]

01:06 PM on 05/05/2010

Wow, that should do it.

[charlietuna11]

11:42 AM on 05/05/2010

if she is regarded as the most progressive of the candidates mentioned up to this point then lets keep our fingers crossed. again,kagen is a huge question mark and the easiest to confirm because of the support from prominate members of the g. o .p. this is not rocket science. select a justice you are certain will reflect the philosophy of your core supporters. if the president selects kagen, he would be showing contempt to his base .he must select some one like diane wood if he wants to be trusted in the future.

[unpleasantville]

10:47 AM on 05/05/2010

Diane Wood would be a fantastic pick. My fingers are crossed.

[olivia]

10:39 AM on 05/05/2010

President Obama, it is time to remember your supporters. November is coming, and some of them need some encourage to come to the polls, in the face of many disappointments (I know, I blame Republicans, but still, you can do this one thing).

[kevinw]

01:42 PM on 05/05/2010

They have been pushing Kagan, there is a great chance that this is another "I always preferred the Public Option" moment. They may be interviewing her to be able to say, "But a progressive was in the top three, How can you say we don't take care of professives?".

[olivia]

03:05 PM on 05/05/2010

Or the exact opposite thing could be happening - Kagan considered to placate the conservatives.

[olivia]

10:33 AM on 05/05/2010

Hoping with all my heart and mind that Diane Wood is his choice. The country needs someone this smart, this experienced and with this much integrity. She's perfect.

[PollyTics]

10:09 AM on 05/05/2010

There are a couple of issues with Diane Wood that confuse me. Obama has stated many times that he is looking for someone young who will be able to stay with the court for years to come and who will be an avid opponent to Roberts and Alito. But it seems that Ms. Wood will be 70 years old next month...and that is not so young. While her background is pretty impressive, that still does not make up for possible "time served".

Now both Souter and Stevens will be retiring shortly, so that means Obama will have the opportunity to name THREE (3) lawyers to the Supreme Court and being that the court has seen slanting heavily to the Right, this can be a great opportunity to straighten out many issues that have been coming down in favor of the Corpocracy instead of for the citizens.

Here's a little background (albeit not all that telling) about Ms Wood:
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Wood
* http://www.newsweek.com/id/237051

[lj9283]

10:15 AM on 05/05/2010

She was born on July 4, 1950, which would make her 60 not 70. (NCLB was a terrible policy)

Here is a "telling" article on Judge Woods:

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/04/19/wood/index.html

[lj9283]

10:17 AM on 05/05/2010

60 in July that is.

[PollyTics]

10:28 AM on 05/05/2010

LOL, you are quite right about the date., she is a year older than myself and I suppose I just feel THAT old!

It's still older than I had anticipated his choice to be, especially after all of this discussions on this subject.

[shoegazing]

10:18 AM on 05/05/2010

She would be 60 years old. If she's the pick, I hope she judges until her 90's.LOL

[PollyTics]

10:30 AM on 05/05/2010

You are right about the date, see my response above.

And I concur; if she is picked, I want her to live to a ripe old age of 90+!