Legal Commentary

Obama, Dawn Johnsen, Stevens' Replacement And The End of The Obama Rorschach Test?

By Big Tent Democrat

clammyc demands a liberal nominee to replace Justice Stevens on the SCOTUS from a centrist President. It is a welcome demand, but fanciful in the extreme. President Obama is not a liberal. As the Dawn Johnsen situation amply proves, President Obama is not, never was and never will be a liberal champion. Paul Rosenberg celebrates the end of the self deception:

The word "myth" has two distinct, but related meanings. One is "a compelling interpretive framework", the other is "a lie." Many myths are both, to varying degrees. The myth of Obama as Rorschach test is one of them. [. . .] In "The death of Dawn Johnsen's nomination," Glenn Greenwald writes:

virtually everything that Dawn Johnsen said about executive power, secrecy, the rule of law and accountability for past crimes made her an excellent fit for what Candidate Obama said he would do, but an awful fit for what President Obama has done.

and thus, finally, one can hope, the myth of Obama as Rorschach test can be set aside. It had a certain credibility once, but by now it simply comes down to the fact that Obama blurs and distorts his image as needed, just like every other politician does.

This is delusion from Rosenberg. The myth of Obama as progressive hero will never end for most Democrats and unfortunately, for too many self proclaimed progressive activists. Rosenberg, who never believed Obama to be a liberal champion, now thinks everyone else will see what he sees. The delusion now comes from him. More . . .

I expect that President Obama will nominate Elena Kagan to fill the vacancy left by Justice Stevens' retirement. I plan on supporting this nomination. Mainly because I think Kagan's view of the Court, the Constitution and the law is attuned to my own.

But I am not much of a progressive. Progressives are right to push for someone more unabashedly liberal than Kagan. For someone whose views are more in tune with their own than Kagan's are. But I hope they have no illusions about all the liberal virtues many progressive activists will now find in Kagan. The Rorschach Test has not ended at all. Indeed, it will intensify now. Rosenberg has it exactly backwards.

Speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 10, 2010 (boomark / email).