President Obama and Harry Reid are giving Senate Republicans every opportunity to back away from their knee-jerk obstruction of a Supreme Court nominee. They're also giving them every opportunity to bury themselves. This is what's called high-level trolling, and it doesn't get better than the anonymous floating of Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval as a possible nominee.
“I recognize the politics are hard for them, because the easier thing to do is to give in to the most extreme voices within their party and stand pat and do nothing, but that’s not our job,” Mr. Obama said ... “Our job is to fulfill our constitutional duties.”
On Capitol Hill, Democrats pressed the White House to put forward a nominee quickly. “I want him to do it—find somebody quickly, get vetted and get it to us,” Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, said of Obama in an interview.
Mr. Obama gave no hint that he was ready to do so, but Democrats began orchestrating a campaign of political pressure. ...
The leaking of Mr. Sandoval’s name appeared to be part of that effort. Senate Republicans said the governor’s party affiliation made no difference — they would not even consider any nominee put forward by Mr. Obama. That only amplified Democratic rhetoric. “I am sorry the Republicans are treating even one of their own that way,” Mr. Reid said.
The understanding and sympathy from President Obama about how hard it is for the GOP to be beholden to the extremists, the reasonableness of offering someone like Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, an opportunity for Republicans to give at least the pretense of appealing to whatever shreds of moderation still exist in the party. The resigned disappointment of Mr. Reid when Republicans shot that trial balloon down even before it was fully aloft. Of course, Republicans immediately rejected the possibility of even considering Sandoval—that's what they do. Which Obama and Reid undoubtedly knew would happen.
But here's another possible outcome they're engineering: proving that there is no point in nominating the kind of person some weak-kneed Democrats (cough, Chris Coons) are suggesting, "the most qualified, the most confirmable, most centrist candidate possible." Sandoval arguably meets all those criteria—who would be more confirmable than a Republican? No, there's no point in that kind of nominee and Obama and Reid just proved it.
They've shown how much room there is for President Obama to name a candidate that's progressive, that will secure his legacy for a generation to come. Which is exactly what he should do. It's worth taking that stand. Doing so—giving Democratic Senate candidates the opportunity to run on cementing that legacy—makes it that much more likely that next January there will be a Democratic Senate to confirm his nominee.