Lisa Madigan didn’t want to be senator, but would she be willing to become the next Supreme Court Justice?
The Illinois Attorney general’s name showed up on Slate.com’s list of potential replacements for outgoing justice John Paul Stevens and her name makes for an intriguing choice.
She could be just the type of middle-of-the-road choice that President Obama could usher through the approval process with ease.
The White House is already familiar with her, and she's argued before the Supreme Court before. Oh, and she's a Cubs fan, which is an important trait for a Stevens replacement.
Madigan is a long shot and she knows it: "It's flattering to even be mentioned as someone who might be considered,” she said when asked about the Slate article. “But we have some other fine people who would be extraordinary for the Supreme Court."
But there is a compelling argument to be made for the woman who some consider the most popular politician in Illinois.
First off, she’d be a tough for the GOP to argue against. Madigan is most definitely a liberal, but she has conservative credentials to boot. She's argued the righty's side on abortion and a right-to-privacy issues, leaving a paper-trail that would give the Republican attack dogs fits.
The only time her office handled an abortion case she argued the anti-abortion side, even though her personal beliefs fall on the other side of the coin, according to the Sun-Times.
She also stood up for the cops in a case about probable cause that involved a drug sniffing dog and a traffic stop.
Furthermore, she won corruption fighting points for trying to block Governor Rod Blagojevich’s move to appoint Roland Burris to the senate.
Perhaps her only negative is that she’s linked to the Chicago democratic machine as the daughter of powerful speaker of the Illinois house Michael Madigan.
Madigan is going to move up in the political sphere sooner or later.
She’s been mentioned as a potential governor and a potential senator, but declined to run for both offices. She's also been mentioned as a potential justice before. Her name came up when David Souter retired last year, and she didn't exactly scoff at the mention.
Some say the Supreme Court is her style.
Will the White House agree with Slate.com and toss her name in the ring?
