Biden Says He’d Nominate Obama To The Supreme Court, “If He’d Take It”

Former Vice President, Joe Biden, said he would nominate former President, Barack Obama, to the Supreme Court providing that the ex-commander-in-chief were willing to do the job.

Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution grants him this privilege – to nominate Obama, and with the advice and confirmation of the Senate, appoint him to the highest court.

Biden was asked over the weekend at a presidential tour event in Washington, Iowa, by one of the members of the crowd, if he would nominate his former boss for the post, to which he replied, “If he’d take it, yes.

He then went on to explain that he would appoint the sort of people who viewed the Constitution as a “living document,” adding that he said years ago that he would be satisfied when the court were composed of half-women.

Biden is not the first to voice the idea of appointing Obama to the highest court aloud in a public setting – 2016 Democratic nominee, Hilary Clinton, publicized that she thought it “was a great idea.” Obama would not be the first President to switch branches – former President William Howard Taft, who served as the 27th U.S. President from 1909 to 1913, also was appointed and served at the 10th Chief Justice post from 1921 to 1930.

Obama, however, has questioned whether or not he has the mentality for the Supreme Court – a life confined to canonical-style of U.S. highest law scripting opinions in government chambers.

“When I got out of law school, I chose not to be clerk,” Obama told CNN analyst Jeffrey Toobin in a 2014 interview with The New Yorker. He said he made this decision, in part because of his older-age compared to his peers, and also because the job was not a good fit – he did not have the temperament to sit in a justice chamber and write opinions.

“I love the law, intellectually,” Obama stated. “I love nutting out these problems, wrestling with these arguments. I love teaching. I miss the classroom and engaging with students. But I think being a justice is a little bit too monastic for me. Particularly after having spent six years and what will be eight years in this bubble, I think I need to get outside a little bit more.”

The former President has never sought out the role before, however, he boasts a resume which prepares him for the role like no other. Obama was known for his law resume before serving in the Oval Office from 2008 to 2016.

In 1990, Obama became the first African American to be named President of the Harvard Law Review. He also worked as a civil rights attorney. In addition, and in specific to the position, he taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago before he deserted the field to enter politics – where he served in both the Illinois state and U.S. Senate.

While Biden is currently the Democratic front-runner, a pour showing in Iowa could threaten his campaign.

 

The ‘No Malarkey’ tour is not the first time Biden voiced nominating Obama for the post. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, CBS Late Night Show Host, Colbert also asked if Biden would nominate Obama to the Supreme Court, to which Biden bolstered his argument. He also shared that he thought Obama was well-prepared for the role, listing his qualifications, and gave concrete supporting reasons from Obama’s presidency on why he would make a good-fit.