Feb 18, 2016 2 min read

The Republicans want to delay the choice of the next Supreme Court justice until after the election, assuming their side could then choose a known right-winger. They are asking President Obama to ignore his constitutional duty in order to give them an advantage. This is clearly a non-starter.

The Democrats want Obama to choose a known left-winger as soon as possible. Of course, the Senate would block that choice, so that’s also a non-starter. But the person would get a lot of publicity and vetting, and would be in an excellent position to be nominated again if the Democrats win the presidential election.

The real opportunity for the country, however, is for the president to make a realistic nomination. He would have to choose a person who is not classifiable in our vicious, politically polarized atmosphere.

Surely, there must be one person of recognized maturity, wisdom, intelligence and openness that is not infected by the hateful divisions ruling our politics and airwaves today.

Making a realistic nomination would focus attention on some truly worthy individual and could be a inspiring step toward bringing respect back to our government institutions in general.

Gerard Weiss

Washington