Obama stands a greater chance than any Democratic President since Lyndon Johnson of making an impact on the both the appeals courts and the Supreme Court, especially if the Democrats get 60 seats in the Senate, which must confirm appointments.
Among the reasons, say court observers, is the unique knowledge he and his running mate would bring to the process.
Obama, a Harvard Law School graduate, was a lecturer at the University of Chicago for 12 years, from 1992 to 2004, when he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Biden, who earned his law degree at Syracuse, chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 through 1995, presiding over the stormy confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas and Robert Bork, and opposing both nominations.
“The first thing to know about Obama, which hasn’t gotten sufficient attention, is that he is himself appointable to the Supreme Court,” said Harvard Law School’s Cass Sunstein, an Obama friend, advisor and former faculty colleague at the University of Chicago Law School.
“He is a constitutional specialist who has taught for many years, said Sunstein. “There’s a guarantee that we’d get someone of the first intellectual rank. No Harriet Miers.”
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