Those murmurs of support for Hillary Clinton as President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee picked up some steam today when an actual senator, as opposed to a blogger or a pundit, mentioned the possibility. In discussing the big names being floated right now, Republican senator Orrin Hatch, all on his own, told the Today show’s Matt Lauer, “I even heard the name Hillary Clinton today, you know, and that would certainly be an interesting person in the mix.” On the one hand, this is intriguing Hatch is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, so what he “hears” could be meaningful. On the other hand, what does “hear[ing] the name Hillary Clinton” even mean? Who did he hear it from? In what context? Was it a White House aide saying, “As far-fetched as it may seem, don’t rule out Hillary Clinton”? Or was it a Hatch staffer saying, “My mom thinks Obama should nominate Hillary Clinton”?
To our great dismay, Lauer followed up with Hatch, but only to ask whether he thought Clinton was qualified. Hatch wouldn’t answer — he has to pretend that senators come in to confirmation hearings with an open mind — but he did sound as if he loves Hillary about as much as he loves the Jews.
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[via Today show]
