Just two days after Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm's sudden appearance in Washington set off a flurry of speculation about Supreme Court interviews, here's something that actually could be significant:
Federal Appears Court Judge Diane Wood, one of the leading contenders to replace David Souter, is in Washington today. The highly regarded Wood is here, ostensibly, to attend a legal conference at Georgetown. But the timing is curious, and here's why.
According to a student, she didn't teach her first-year civil procedure class at the University of Chicago Law School yesterday afternoon and provided no advance notice or explanation. That's apparently because she was flying to DC-to attend the long-scheduled judicial conference, even though she is not on the program as a panelist or participant.
You know what I think about Gov. Granholm's odds of becoming Obama's pick. But Diane Wood is another story. She is among the top three prospects Obama is considering, along with Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Solicitor General Elena Kagan, sources tell me. Like those two, she's filled out the exhaustive questionnaire and undergone the intensive vetting and FBI background check. There's one thing left: the crucial interview with the President.
Wood specializes in trade and anti-trust law. In addition to being a working mother, one of the things I like about her is that she went to the University of Texas for her undergraduate degree. As I wrote three weeks ago, specifically mentioning Wood, why not someone who didn't attend an elite undergraduate university?
Wood teaches at the University of Chicago, and actually knows President Obama. That makes her a very, very safe pick for the President, and he usually turns to safe picks. She talso urns 59 on the fourth of July, which adds a nice bit of Americana to the pick. With the nomination hearings expected this summer, that might actually be a helpful boost.
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