Barack Obama is a relatively young guy, for politics anyway. He's 47 years old now, the fourth youngest President in our history. Assuming he serves two terms, in 2017 when he leaves office he will be 55 years old. Still not that old in the world of politics, McCain was 72, you know. So what I've recently been pondering is:
"What will Barack Obama do after his Presidency is over?"
Sure, there's the option, that a lot of Presidents take, to just settle down with his family in Chicago and enjoy a nice, long retirement. But something tells me he is still going to be involved in politics and government after his 8 years are up. I do not think he will run for a lower office such as the Senate or the House. After all, only Andrew Johnson and John Quincy Adams have served in either the Senate or the House (in their cases, the House) after serving as President.
That brings me to the point of this diary. William Howard Taft is the only former President to have ever served on the Supreme Court. In his case he was Chief Justice. Let me digress to say that as much as I dislike Taft, for him to have been elected President and then serve as Chief Justice for 9 years, on top of his previous titles of Secretary of War, Solicitor General and a couple of brief stints as Governor of Cuba and the Philippines, is one impressive career in government and I applaud him for his success. That, in my opinion is quite a feat. Now that I've finished praising America's heaviest President I can get to the real point of this diary. Barack Obama, Chief Justice sounds pretty damn good, don't you think? Even Barack Obama, Associate Justice has a nice ring to it.
I thought about it for awhile and I believe that it is both plausible and possible for Barack Obama to serve on the Supreme Court sometime after his Presidency. I'm not willing to say that its a likelihood just yet, he is only in his first 6 months as President, but I have to say it is something that I would certainly welcome and something he is exceedinly qualified for. As the cable networks were saying before Obama picked Judge Sotomayor, we haven't had a Supreme Court Justice who wasn't previously a judge on another federal court in quite some time. Basically, no President has appointed a Governor, Senator or other politician instead of a judge in recent times. I apologize for not knowing exactly how long its been but its late and this is a quicker diary than usual.
I don't think our President would be entirely opposed to the idea. I think if anything, the biggest deterrent would be the exaustiveness of being President for 8 years and the toll the body and mind take from that stress-filled life. Supreme Court Justices, on the other hand, don't seem to have as much stress as the President does. I'm not saying their jobs aren't difficult and stressful but they are definately not in the public view and scrutiny as much as the President is. But, for now, regardless of whether Barack Obama would be up to the job, I'd rather discuss what that would be like should the situation arise. I personally, think he would make an excellent Chief Justice. He is certainly knowledgeable and acquainted with Constitutional law. If all goes as we Democrats intend, he will have served eight years as President as well as his years in the Senate and Illinois State Senate. There isn't much to argue against his qualifications. The Republicans would kick and scream but the fight would be worth it. I believe he would be a solid progressive voice on important issues on the bench and well worth any fight that may ensue. As long as we have the Majority there shouldn't be a problem.
The only X factor is whether or not we will have a Democratic President after the 2016 election to appoint him. As American electoral history has shown us, it is usually pretty rare for a political party to hold on to the executive branch for more than two terms in a row. There have been exceptions, the most recent being 1980-1992 with the Reagan-Reagan-Bush Administrations. That right there, however, is part of the reason why I believe we have a good shot to keep the Presidency in 2016. The Republicans have basically had the Presidency locked up since Nixon in '69, with two exceptions. That is 40 years of Republican Presidential domination. Sure they had a lot of fun while they had it but the country is obviously fed up with their crap. As many liberals and progressives believe, we very well may be at the beginning of a Democratic Party-dominated era in American politics. At least we can be if we play our cards right and get shit done. Anyhow, if Obama has a successful Presidency I think its likely that America will elect a Democrat as his successor.
I think its a hell of an idea for President Obama to consider serving on the Supreme Court should the opportunity present itself. He'd be an extraordinary Justice and would surely go down in history should this Progressive wave in electoral politics and governing succeed this nation and putting America back on the right track.