Clinton knows he needs a justice who can stand up to Scalia. He also wants somebody who can wheel and deal in the style of Brennan. That is one important reason, say White House aides, why Clinton may look for a public figure with real-world experience to replace Byron White. Traditionally, justices have been chosen from the federal bench or academe. Clinton would rather find an Earl Warren-the former California governor who as chief justice would cut through the legal niceties to ask, “Is it fair? Is it right?”
Clinton’s relentless search for diversity could take him in the direction of a woman or a minority. White House aides say Clinton would be especially pleased to name the court’s first Hispanic. Among the names floated are Marian Wright Edelman, Hillary’s friend and head of the Children’s Defense Fund; and Jose Cabranes, chief federal judge in Connecticut. But Clinton has already said he is considering one white male who might enjoy mixing it up with Scalia. Last October, Clinton said he would love to have “a ringside seat” at the first court argument between Scalia and New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. The White House has not actually approached the governor about the job, and Cuomo is, as ever, equivocal. “It’s about as luxurious a life as you can imagine, intellectually,” Cuomo told the Albany Times Union two weeks ago. “All you have to do is listen, think, conclude and write. It’s heaven. That’s one theory.” The other theory, he went on, is: “They put you in this big room. They slam this mahogany door shut. And you’re dead.” Perhaps, but with Scalia in the room as well, it’s hard to imagine that Cuomo wouldn’t come alive for a fight.
