Obama names first woman solicitor gen.

Posted: Monday, January 05, 2009 11:17 AM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: Pete Williams

From NBC's Pete Williams
President-elect Obama intends to nominate the dean of the Harvard Law School to be the first female full-time solicitor general, the government's top courtroom advocate. No woman has ever held the position in any but an acting role.

Elena Kagan is a former Clinton White House lawyer and policy adviser. She also clerked for Justice Thurgood Marshall at the Supreme Court and, before that, for Judge Abner Mikva at the D.C. Court of Appeals.

Obama was also considering another woman -- Kathleen Sullivan, dean of the Stanford Law School -- for the job.

Obama's transition said today the president-elect has chosen three other veterans of the Clinton Administration for other top Justice positions.

For deputy attorney general, the person who runs DOJ day to day, Obama wants David Ogden, who's been running the Justice transition. Ogden was an assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Division under Clinton and also served as Janet Reno's chief of staff during part of the time she was attorney general. He's a former Harry Blackmun clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court.

For the No. 3 spot at DOJ, associate attorney general, Obama has chosen Tom Perrelli. He was a counsel to Reno and an official in the Civil Division under Clinton.

And for the person in the very sensitive job of heading up DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel, Obama has chosen an academic -- Dawn Johnsen, a professor of law at Indiana University. She's an OLC veteran and was its No. 2 official there under Clinton and Reno. In the Bush administration, opinions from OLC justified the use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods. Some of those opinions were later rescinded. A top priority for the Obama Justice Department will be sorting through the OLC opinions written during the war on terror and deciding which to declare void.

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Comments

From Washington Monthly.com:

'...TARGETING CIVILIANS.... When I first saw Glenn Greenwald's piece yesterday on Michael Goldfarb's latest missive, I thought there had to be some kind of mistake. Glenn made it sound like Goldfarb, the Weekly Standard writer and former John McCain aide, had endorsed deliberate military attacks against innocent civilians.

But it wasn't a mistake; that's exactly what Goldfarb argued. Under a headline that read, "Ruthless," Goldfarb commented on an Israeli airstrike that killed a Hamas leader, his wives, and his 12 children.

The fight against Islamic radicals always seems to come around to whether or not they can, in fact, be deterred, because it's not clear that they are rational, at least not like us. But to wipe out a man's entire family, it's hard to imagine that doesn't give his colleagues at least a moment's pause. Perhaps it will make the leadership of Hamas rethink the wisdom of sparking an open confrontation with Israel under the current conditions.

Noting how odd it is to see "the ethics of Osama bin Laden being explicitly adopted by the organs of mainstream conservatism," Matt Yglesias explained, "To be clear, [Goldfarb's] not saying that it's sometimes okay to kill a bad guy's innocent children as part of a military operation directed against the guy. He's saying it's better to kill his children than it would be to avoid killing them."...'

Osama was a 'Freedom Fighter' when he worked for Ronnie Reagan (like Jonas Savimbi and the 'cocaine running' Contras)

Terrorism isn't terrorism if it's practiced by our friends (or us)

and torture is OK too ?

MSierra, SF (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:28 AM)

Oh glory be! Another academic that hasn't a clue on how the real world works!

Women In Charge (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:30 AM)

She'll have a tough time with the right wing stacked Sup. Ct. Can only hope Obama will have the opportunity to replace Scalia and/or Thomas.

pat huntington ny (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:31 AM)

"Obama To Name First Woman Solicitor." That doesn't sound right. Maybe I missed the entire headline but the way things are going with the Dems and their corruption game, maybe all of this is expected.

How about we hold bikini contests on the White House lawn? Bill Clinton is sure to come.

Polythene Pam (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:33 AM)

Hey, I thought it is ILLEAGAL to solicit women....

Charles Barkley (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:34 AM)

If the Bush Bunch is an indication of "how the real world works," give me an academic anytime.

Joe Don, Topeka, KS (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:42 AM)

I think Obama will be remembered first of all for his astute appointments. No more Brownies, Gonzalezes, or Harriet Miers types in top positions! Imagine appointing qualified people? I'm so glad Obama won.

Amy B Portland, ME (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:47 AM)

Now that DOJ will no longer be run by political tainted appointments like Lil George and Albert had going on.It may be high time to start talking about bringing these war criminals to justice.Or will we the people just stand by and let these lying war mongers walk away and not be held accountable.We have paid a high price with our young fighters blood,we have spent trillions,because Lil Bushie wanted to be a war President.In his little world he thought war presidents were held in higher regard then those that where not.Lets face it LIL Dickey who has been at the switch the last 8 years told LIL GB we had to go to war,and what did LIL GB do,what he was told.If these two and the rest of the gang get away with this, we the people will be looked upon as weak for not holding them accountable.

jesse St.Paul Minnesota (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:48 AM)

I said it first. The Clinton and Bush families have run the U.S. for the last 20 years. Now we want CHANGE. So Obama selects the Clinton team to help him run the country. There's no change here, just add another 4 years for the Clintons and the Bush and Clintons families have 12 years each running the country. If Jeb makes it in 2012, what a sensational pow-wow that would make for the media and the resurging Republicans, all because the Dems can't get their corrupt party in order. We're looking at the tip of the iceburg. Let's wait and see how deep the corruption really goes. Hannity will have to work overtime. Rush will rant and rave and Palin will have new shot because, after all, she is one of the few that actually stands up for what the Republican base actually stands for.

Polythene Pam (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:53 AM)

Oh glory be! Another academic that hasn't a clue on how the real world works!
Women In Charge

Actually for this position you want an academic, this isn't a "real world" position, this isn't Secretary of Labor, head of FEMA, it isn't even Attorney General. It is the head Attorney, who argues and overseas the administrations appeals before the Supreme Court. I'm a lawyer, a work in the real world, I've handed my share of appealate case in the Iowa State Supreme Court, I graduated high in my law school class 20+ years ago, however I do not pretend to have the necessary legal intellect to handle that position. It isn't a position for any attorney, but really calls for an "egg-head" attorney.

Sara, Iowa (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:55 AM)

>>>Oh glory be! Another academic that hasn't a clue on how the real world works!
Women In Charge (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:30 AM)

==========
Exactly what is it that some people in this country have against intelligence? They talk about "intellectual elite" and "academic elite" as if having an education above 10th grade is somehow a bad thing. It seems that some of you would prefer that the country be run by people who got their GEDs out of a cereal box. Maybe you were comfortable with 8 years of total incompetence in every area of government. Me personally, while I have quite a few drinking buddies, I wouldn't want any of them running this country.

15 Days and counting until Inauguration Day!
http://jawillie.blog.com

jawillie, Philadelphia, PA. (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:56 AM)

MSierra, SF (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:28 AM)

Welcome to reality.
The moral high ground, if there ever really was any, is submerged in an ocean of blood. The Palestinians sit on their reservations. The young men rail against the inevitable and kill uselessly. Their impotent efforts shown as evidence of the need to eradicate the "savage".
Strong "civilizations" always conquer, absorb or completely destroy weaker ones who happen to be in the way. That is just the way of things. Someone should send 4 million copies of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee to the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinians would be much smarter to accept the two nation solution. It would at least prevent this slow motion war of attrition that the Israelis will undoubtedly win with the help of American munitions and political cover.
Better to be a nation of 4.5 million setting next to your old advesary then to be a refugee camp of 2 million old men, women and children at the mercy of those that defeated your young men.

Gary Schear, Bozeman Montana (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:58 AM)

Congratulations to Ms. Kagan! I look forward to the day when many of these "firsts" are no longer news, just the best candidate getting the job . . .

************************
From a previous thread:

"The Palestinians do have a right to exist; but not as antagonists in a never ending drama. The fundamentalist extremists are ruining the lives of many. Why is Israel expected to live in peace with terrorists? We wouldn't ask that of ourselves, so why is it expected of others? "

- Clara Kansas City, MO
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Clara,

There is no true justification for the killing of innocent people, by either the Palestinians or the Israelis.

We attempt to justify it so we can sleep at night, but the truth is, the issues that they are fighting about are not worth a single human life.

I am so weary of watching the United States of America steadily decline, and yet so much of our energy is drained by trying to referee age old fights that I am not sure either party actually wants resolved.

Simply put: America cannot afford to be jerked around for another 4 years by every whim of every tyrant (whether Arab or Jew) in the Middle East. We need to reasses what is in AMERICA's interests in that region and make that happen.

Our first priority has got to be to get BOTH SIDES to stop killing each other. Period.

Otherwise, how are we any better than the terrorist we decry? How can we justify the killing of innocent people to "make a point"? Would we let American schools be bombed to protest our inferior public education system? How about bombing hospitals to protest the broken healthcare system?

There are no clean hands in the Israel/Palestine conflict. There is much repenting to be done on both sides. The U.S. choosing the best of two murderous regimes is not really much of a choice.

Nashville_fan (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 12:07 PM)

To Women in Charge ~ Real world? Like the current real world of Washington and Wall Street? Right. As a woman and an attorney, I think it's a great pick. In my own experience, Harvard lawyers almost always know what's up.

To CA from another thread -- After the $500 tax credit runs out, then what? Then let them eat cake, what else? After all, what's wrong with cake? If it was good for enough for French peasants, then it's good enough for American peasants. ;)

Anna Molly (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 12:17 PM)

FR - "Obama's transition said today the president-elect has chosen three other veterans of the Clinton Administration for other top Justice positions"

Still waiting on the "Change" to Washington that Obama promised. I don't think I will hold my breath any more.

Turning Blue (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 12:40 PM)

Women in Charge. What do you want? A few weeks ago, the complaint was Obama didn't have enough women in his cabinet. Now the complaint is this women is too smart. Would you prefer someone who has a grade school education? Obama is damn if he does, and damn if he doesn't.

Diana Owens, Tacoma, Wash. (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 12:42 PM)

She'll have a tough time with the right wing stacked Sup. Ct. Can only hope Obama will have the opportunity to replace Scalia and/or Thomas.
pat huntington ny (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 11:31 AM)
_________

Scalia *and/or* Thomas? When did they become two separate people???

Jackson, Seattle (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 12:46 PM)

"Another academic who hasn't a clue on how the real world works."Perhaps it would be better to have Brownie, a non-academic who had no clue how to save lives in a hurricane? Or any of the other incompetent Bush appointees? Maybe a thinking person will question and learn how to make things work.

Mary, Illinois (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 12:49 PM)

Einstein once said that common sense is more important than education. Some of the dumbest people I know have degrees. When you think about it, all the stupid drama going on in Washington is being played out by "educated" grownups. I once saw a movie about smart kids competing in a chess tournament. The coach was saying to behave like adults, respect one another and not cause any drama. He was talking to the parents.

Joe Sepeda,Early,Texas (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 1:09 PM)

Joe Sepeda,Early,Texas (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 1:10 PM)

Oh glory be! Another academic that hasn't a clue on how the real world works!
Women In Charge

Read the article. These people have experience in government under the Clinton Administration.

Don't kid yourself, academics are very much aware of how things are done in government. They may even be able to change things for the better. Time will tell, of course.

eagle1776 (Sent Monday, January 05, 2009 1:14 PM)

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