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White house does not seem to be eager about this. that they do not want a war over a supreme court nomination. what do you sense from the white house? i think they ll choose someone who reflects who justice stevens was so i wouldn t be surprised, idiosyncrasy lon surprised, more to the left. this is going to be a battle royale. the republicans will use this to gin up their base. the reality is a loft the republicans including what joe just said, the only justice they d be happy with is somebody who is scalia. that s just not going to happen. president obama is not going to nominate a scalia type justice. he s going to nominate someone who reflects and understands what real people go through. let s talk about how things have changed since justice sotomayor s nomination animation. you have a 59 majority there in the senate. not the 60. how does that affect the situation? america is different some would say than we were with the ....
Of his name as this nomination. he said, interestingly enough, that he wants to have someone that knows how the law affects the day-to-day lives of people and someone similar to justice john paul stevens. what do you make of the president s assessment just now? reporter: well, i thought one of the most interesting things he said is something no one would dispute which is justice stevens leaves the supreme court at the top of his game. physically, he s remarkably fit for a man of his age who will turn 90 on april 20th. he is a regular tennis player. he is still very active physically and very active mentally. and, you know, i think that is true. some justices, to put it charitably, sometimes in history have waited too long and, clearly, that is something that john paul stevens wanted to avoid. now, the president also said he would move quickly to choose a nominee. it took the white house 25 days a year ago from the time that david suter formally announced his decision to step down unt ....
Justice sotomayor battle. that was a tough one. it s going to be difficult. i think this is going to be a very heated partisan battle. you re going to see gas roots groups. you re going to see the more conservative members of the senate, the republican side really try to make political hay out of this. it s not going to be an easy fight. if we follow kind of the decorum in terms of how in the past it s followed, you know, the senate tends to defer to the president in terms of their choice if he fits the legal requirements or she fits the legal requirements that most people believe a justice should have. so in that sense it should be a relatively easy process but it s not going to be because this is going to be a political process because that is what the republicans are going to want. they ll want a political fight. well, we just want we re not looking to fight. we just want somebody who is going to be a fair and balanced judge and not come to the bench with a political agenda. ....
And he was very careful about the way he approached cases, trying to decide only what needed to be decided for that case. they say that the world is a small place. in chicago for some reason is coming up a lot when we ask people about the short list of names as possible replacements. two women from chicago. federal appeals court judge diane wood, also university of chicago law professor cass sustein who oversees the federal approvement office in the office of management and judgment. are you aware of their backgrounds. i only know judge wood is a seventh circuit judge and cass sunstein was a law professor. i know they both spent a lot of time in chicago and i would think that given most of the court is from the east coast now that s something that president obama would be thinking about. the president again going back to the point of wanting a justice who is and understands ....
Joining me now democratic strategies chris covinas and also republican strategist joe watkins the director of hill solutions a firm that con sults government and business. i ll start off with you on this. already, we know there s going to be a battle. what do you believe will be the battle cry of the republicans here? i think republicans want what americans want which is a justice of course who will be impartial, somebody who will come to the supreme court without an agenda who won t try to legislate from the bench, somebody who will strictly terpt the constitution and somebody who represents judicial restraint. i think if this happens republicans will be very pleased and americans will be pleased because that s the kind of justice we d like to see. the question becomes is the appetite the democrats have for a bruising battle, because if the president offers up a name that s somebody from the far left, there will be a strong response from republicans. and let me bring in chris. i ....