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Obama Calls Hatch’s Bluff

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Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) told Newsmax last week that President Obama “could easily name Merrick Garland, who is a fine man” to the Supreme Court.

But he quickly added, “He probably won’t do that because this appointment is about the election. So I’m pretty sure he’ll name someone the liberal Democratic base wants.”

Hatch was wrong.

Obama Picks Merrick Garland for Supreme Court

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Settling for a centrist candidate with decades of judicial experience, President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a federal appeals judge in Washington, D.C., to the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia,the Huffington Post reports.

“An eventual appointment for Garland is also less likely to mark a liberal shift in the Supreme Court. If anything, his contributions — given his age and his moderate record so far — are likely to be more pragmatic than path-marking for some of the country’s most hotly contested legal issues, such as voting rights, gun control and the scope of presidential powers.”

Think Progress: Who is Merrick Garland?

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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