Expect Another Woman on Supreme Court

The prospect of nominating another woman to the Supreme Court appeals to President Obama and may strongly influence his choice of the successor to John Paul Stevens. With the Court's imminent retirees made of up mostly of liberals, Obama will probably only preserve the court's ideological status quo. What he can change, however, is its gender balance, Daniel Klaidman writes for Newsweek.

Obama has privately told friends that he'd like nothing more than to leave the presidency having installed three women on the bench. Doing so would have short-term advantages: Women form a disproportionately large fraction of Obama supporters. That's another good sign for Elena Kagan, who is again on Obama's short list. The solicitor general has a reputation for building consensus with conservative colleagues—a quality Obama admires. (More US Supreme Court stories.)