Women Rising

[babylonsister]

http://www.observer.com/2010/politics/women-rising

Women Rising

By Joe Conason
May 11, 2010 | 5:22 p.m


Someday, when Americans have learned to live the true meaning of our creed, a Supreme Court nomination of a woman, a Latino, an African-American or any other variety of human being—including a gay man or woman—will provoke no comment or concern. Until then, we should applaud every step toward that future. The latest is President Barack Obama’s choice of Elena Kagan to become the third female justice among the nine justices on the nation’s highest court.

Beyond the inevitable and proper inquiries about the character and views of his latest nominee, Mr. Obama’s decision tells us something important about him, too. Surely he appreciates her reputation as a conciliator who listens to all sides. He is probably reassured by the fact that the Senate easily confirmed her last year as solicitor general. But what this nomination reminds us is that he is not only the first African-American in the Oval Office, but the first president raised on feminist principles as well.

As he stood next to Ms. Kagan in announcing her selection, Mr. Obama referred to her late mother, a public elementary school teacher who showed a special interest in bright little girls.

“I think she would relish, as do I, the prospect of three women taking their seat on the nation’s highest court for the first time in history,” said the president, “a court that would be more inclusive, more representative, more reflective of us as a people than ever before.”

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Today there is nothing unusual about a bank vice president—or a peripatetic academic—who happens to be female. Back when Mr. Obama was growing up, however, those two brave women shaped his outlook profoundly. We cannot yet know how three female justices will change the culture of the court and the jurisprudence of the nation. But the dream that Ms. Kagan cherished and pursued just became a little easier for other girls to imagine.