Reply #36: Obama needs to learn

[droidamus2]

President Obama needs to learn the trick in negotiating of starting off looking to get everything you want and more so that you can give up 'the more' and still get everything you want. He should start off by nominating a very strong liberal jurist, but have in place a backup nominee that is still liberal but more 'acceptable' than his initial nominee. That way if the Republicans are successful in scuttling the first nomination the Democrats can frame the second nominee as being to the right of the first and in the 'mainstream of American jurisprudence'. With that framework if you get the first nominee through 'fantastic', but if you have to go to the bullpen you still get a good solid liberal justice. Almost as important is the idea that Obama's team should anticipate the possibility of needing two nominees and have them both vetted and lined up ready to go (obviously keeping the second one a secret as much as possible). This would allow them, again if the Repugs are successful, to jump right in with the next nominee before the Republican echo machine has a chance to frame the new nominee and influence the public.