Obama said he understood that “there are a lot of Republican senators under pressure from various special interests and various constituencies not to let any nominee go through, no matter who I nominate”. This kind of hatred and bigotry has no place in our politics or our country.
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Biden, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995 and has helped advise the president on his previous picks for the nation’s highest court, said he has “faith” Obama will select a highly qualified candidate with the right background and temperament as a nominee.
Obama declined to answer specific questions about whether and how he might tailor his choice to reflect the unique circumstances of the vacancy: It comes with less than a year left in his presidency and a Republican Senate majority already vowing to block the choice. “Some are even saying he doesn’t have the right to nominate anyone, as if somehow he’s not the real president”.
Scalia, 79, was found dead of natural causes Saturday in Texas.
Obama will remain in office until January.
Eighty one percent of Democrats polled by NBC and 77 percent by CBS were in favor of Obama deciding the next Supreme Court justice.
When asked whether Obama’s Saturday plans include golfing, Earnest stressed instead that the president believes it is important to honor Scalia’s life and service. And I think they recognise that being President is a serious job. “The American public expects us to do the job we’re elected to do”.
“If we are following basic precedent, then that nominee will be presented before the committees; the vote will be taken; and ultimately, they’ll be confirmed”, Obama said.
“There’s no unwritten law that says that it can only be done on off years”, Obama said.
“I think it will be a little over three weeks”, Reid said in an interview on MSNBC, adding that he spoke to Obama about the nomination on Thursday.
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The Rasmussen Reports survey released Wednesday finds 43 percent of likely voters think Obama should leave the decision about a SCOTUS replacement to his successor, but that 51 percent disagree, believing the decision is this president’s to make. It is today the American people, rather than a lame-duck president whose priorities and policies they just rejected in the most-recent national election, who should be afforded the opportunity to replace Justice Scalia.
