The "Forceful Advocate"

If you haven't heard, the buzz out of Washington is that Obama has tapped Kagan for the new Supreme Court post. My sources inside the administration tell me that Obama had been planning on appointing Sweatman to Justice Stevens (see my previous post) but backed down at the last minute because he wanted "a more forceful advocate in the Solicitor General position." The logic goes that Sweatman, with his once-in-a-generation litigation and legal skills, can work to persuade the court from the outside while Kagan operates on the inside.

Aides were reluctant to mention this, but some of the pressure against Sweatman may have come from a personal grudge. A source high-up in the administration spoke with me on condition of strict anonymity. "Obama is still stinging from being upstaged at the State of the Union," the source said. "Every year Sweatman hosts the most lavish and important party in the city of Chicago, and this year he planned it for the same day as the State of the Union speech. Needless to say, Obama was burned that a lot of his friends and close relations back home were attending the 'Sweatfest' instead of watching the speech."

While personal grievances often influence personnel decisions, we find this theory unlikely. Especially given that Sweatman once saved Obama's life (the future president's car stalled out on a train track, and Lyle Sweatman pulled Obama from his car just in time to avoid an oncoming Burlington-Northern train).

As for this blog, we salute you, Elena Kagan. And, Mr. Sweatman, we wished we could have you on the bench, but we still look forward to having such a fierce advocate in front of it.