President Barack Obama is going to have a unique pleasure of being able to appoint two Supreme Court Justices to the court. Justice Sotomeyer has been serving since her appointment to the high court last summer. And now Justice John Paul Stevens has announced his retirement plans, giving the president his second opportunity. Naturally, there has been some speculation of who would be the most appropriate nominee for the court.
An article on the Nation’s website compares this time in our sociological history to that of the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. And subsequently, the article replaces the struggles of black Americans with that of gay Americans today. Noting how President Johnson appointed Thurgood Marshall to alleviate some of the strains of the civil rights struggle. Some argue, and the article does so as well, that President Johnson felt badly about how the executive branch had done little for the struggles of black Americans. He made the appointment to the court knowing that legislation can be changed, but the Supreme Court (for the most part) is final.
This can be applied to current day with gay Americans in that the Obama administration is indeed failing to follow through with its goal of eliminating “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell.” While, there are strides that are being made, it is clear that more can be done. The article, and these conversations, very clearly is an attempt to set the agenda by the news media. In this case, it’s not necessarily a negative attempt. The administration has to be sure to follow through with its plans.
Paul M. Smith of Washington D.C. would be the perfect candidate for the high court.
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