"Judge Alito would energize the president's conservative supporters. But he would not be as much of a fight as the others. Luttig and [5th Circuit Judge Priscilla] Owen, in particular, raise the serious prospect of a filibuster and it seems unlikely in the current environment that the administration is anxious to have that fight," Goldstein wrote.
"It seems to me that the pressure to nominate a woman is considerably lessened now, and the focus is on getting someone confirmed. Judge Alito will be grudgingly confirmable to many Democrats once they look at his record," Goldstein wrote.
Goldstein's political calculus could prove to be dead on, especially if the White House is intent on moving quickly and avoiding an ugly confirmation battle.
Born on April Fool's Day in 1950, the 55-year-old Alito might be exactly what Bush is looking for. His resume reads like a recipe for high court consideration -- beginning with undergrad studies at Princeton, perhaps the Ivy League's most welcoming home for conservatives seeking elite educations, and a law degree from Yale, the Bush family's sentimental favorite.
After a clerkship with 3rd Circuit Judge Leonard I. Garth, Alito worked as a front-line federal prosecutor in New Jersey for four years. But soon after President Ronald Reagan was elected, Alito joined the Office of the Solicitor General, staying for four years and helping to decide what position the administration would take in cases up for review by the Supreme Court.
That was followed by a three-year stint at Main Justice as a deputy assistant attorney general. In 1987, at the age of 37, Alito was appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, a post he held until he was tapped in 1990 by the first President Bush to join the 3rd Circuit.
On the hot-button issues, Alito has been consistently conservative -- so conservative that some lawyers have given him the nickname "Scalito." Roughly translated, the nickname means "Little Scalia," suggesting that Alito has modeled his judicial philosophy after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
If Alito is nominated and his record is put under the national microscope, conservatives are likely to be happy with what they see.
With Alito's dissent on Planned Parenthood v. Casey I don't see how he is any less likely to provoke a filibuster. The dance in the Senate is all about abortion, when you cut right down to it.
Awesome pick!