Judge Batchelder Supreme Court Watch

Watching the Meet the Press roundtable on potential Supreme Court picks, and Judge Batchelder of the Sixth Circuit got mentioned, with a photo! This is the first time I've seen her mentioned along with other potential female picks. She's still a longshot--a real longshot, in my opinion. But she's in the running. This will be of especial interest to readers of this blog who have worked or will work for Judge Batchelder . . .

Judge Batchelder has a ton of experience--indeed, she's almost impossible to criticize in terms of qualifications. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe she's been a bankruptcy judge, a district judge, and a court of appeals judge (the last since 1990 0r 1991). Although her views can be somewhat idiosyncratic, I don't think her conservative bona fides are in doubt. I'd have to say I'm certain that her financial (etc.) background is pretty clean, given that her husband has been an elected official in Ohio for many years and I've never heard of anything fishy there. So what are those Bush people waiting for?

BTW, I heard a number of times on tv that it's the Right that has objections to an Alberto Gonzalez nomination. I'm sure you've heard the "Gonzalez is Spanish for Souter" jokes. (It is kind of funny, really.) But remember--the Left has objections to Gonzalez, too, based on his record in the war on terror.

Trivia question: When was the last time a president nominated a sitting Attorney General to the high court?