Garling Gauge

Bill Clinton On The Supreme Court?

Justice William Jefferson Clinton?

Douglas Kmiec of Pepperdine School of Law has a new suggestion for what to do with ‘first gentleman’ Bill Clinton should his wife ascend to the presidency: Supreme Court Justice.

Tossing out the idea in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, Kmiec wrote that the “ubiquitous presence of the former president on the campaign prompts a question: What will Hillary do with Bill if she is elected?”

One might ask, is it legal? Could a former president be nominated for the Supreme Court? Sure, as Jonathan Alder explained in the National Review,

Before dismissing the possibility of Justice William Jefferson Clinton, it is worth recalling a bit of history — most notably, the history of another former president who landed on the Supreme Court, William Howard Taft. Taft would come to love his fellow justices and the court so much that he later described them as his ideals “that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God.”

That seems a little strong for Bill Clinton, but Taft and Mr. Clinton are not without their similarities. For example, both started out in life as law professors — Taft at the University of Cincinnati and Mr. Clinton at the University of Arkansas. Mr. Clinton also shares with Taft a warm, gregarious personality that is well received at home and abroad.

It is noteworthy however that Taft had a profoundly more extensive legal career than Clinton before being elected president. Taft also never had his law license suspended.

Even with these differences, Clinton was a law professor, state Attorney general, Governor, and President of the United States. Tough act to follow. And it is unlikely the former president would be satisfied with many other roles save that of UN Secretary General, of which the UN has an accepted practice of not allowing nationals of permanent members of the Security Council, including the United States.

Even with his insurmountable resume’, Matthew J. Franck notes that

Clinton is less qualified for the Supreme Court than was Harriet Miers, and his nomination would be far more controversial than hers was. This kind of firestorm Hillary would not need. But maybe that’s just what Douglas Kmiec had in mind with this mischievous suggestion!

Alder’s piece counters these potentially negative points by listing the positives.

In short, a seat on the Supreme Court solves Sen. Clinton’s dilemma of what to do with her husband if she becomes president. It keeps Bill formally out of the White House and structurally out of the executive branch. And lest that dampen Mr. Clinton’s interest, he might be reassured by Taft’s practice of continuing to advise the president on the substance of legislation and to lobby to sustain various presidential vetoes.

The roll of the former president offers up interesting questions and a conundrum. How much of President Clinton’s gravity accounts for Senator Clinton’s presidential support? If elected, how would the role of a first gentleman differ from a first lady? What would the roll of a former president be as spouse to a current president? And the conundrum: What would be the roll of Bill Clinton in particular?

These questions are part of what attract and repel voters to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign. Like experienced critters we’re attracted to the light but are wise enough to feel wary of it (no critters were harmed in the writing of this post). The unknown often elicits fear and uncertainty.

Still it is an intriguing idea, and one of the cleverest solutions to the ‘Clinton conundrum’ yet.

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More on Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Election, Politics, Law

• Bill Clinton Seeds Doubt in Barack Obama
• Bill Clinton on Daily Show: Congress Has Sleep Deprivation
• Protesting Bill Clinton: Video From a Heckler’s Point of View

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