WASHINGTON — Emboldened by success the first time around, President Obama is likely to pick the Supreme Court nominee he wants and let the confirmation fight proceed from there, putting huge emphasis on a justice who would bring a fight-for-the-little-guy sensibility to the job.

Politics will certainly play into Obama’s calculus: He no longer has the votes in the Senate to overcome the delaying tactic known as the filibuster, and a minority Republican Party in fierce opposition to Obama’s agenda has little incentive to hand him a win just months before House and Senate elections.

But Obama’s strategy worked when he chose Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter last year — announce the criteria he deems the most vital for a nominee, vet the nominees with no embarrassing gaffes or leaks, and pick the one with whom he feels the most comfort.

Confirmability was a factor then, not a driver. Expect much the same now.

Obama’s task is to replace the liberal lion of the court, Justice John Paul Stevens, who on Friday announced his coming retirement.

In quick succession, Obama has a rare chance to choose two justices who could shape the court’s rulings for decades. He has given every sign that he approaches this decision the way aggressive coaches prefer to call strategy — playing to win, as opposed to playing not to lose.

Advertisement

In choosing a nominee over the next few weeks, Obama is inclined to stick with his formula of going all out, like he did in getting a health care reform law, the biggest and most consuming fight of his presidency.

The view from the White House is that the president is almost certain to face a political and ideological fight in this election year no matter whom he nominates to the court; the only issue is to what degree.

So why scale back?

What’s more, Obama has shown an aggressive streak when it comes to the nation’s highest court, one sure to shape his thinking in picking a nominee.

Obama openly criticized the court for a January ruling that allowed corporations to spend freely to influence elections. And he did that during his State of the Union address with six justices sitting in front of him, drawing a rare, dismissive reaction from Justice Samuel Alito, one of the court’s conservative members.

Stevens had strongly dissented in that corporate-friendly campaign finance case, saying it did nothing less than threaten “to undermine the integrity of elected institutions around the nation.”

Advertisement

And Obama all but referenced the court ruling when he said from the Rose Garden on Friday that he is poised to choose a nominee who “like Justice Stevens, knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.”

It is this criterion — Obama has called it empathy, or seeing life and the law through others’ eyes — that defined his choice of Sotomayor.

It seems sure to do so again this time, inviting a political fight.

Obama’s biggest risk is choosing someone who so riles Republicans that all 41 unite against him or her.

Obama promises to pick a nominee quickly. There seems no obvious reason that he could not do so within the same time frame — 25 days — that elapsed between Souter’s retirement announcement and Obama’s selection of Sotomayor.

The partisan atmosphere is only worse this time. But Obama’s game plan seems the same: choosing a nominee on his terms.

 


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.