Democrats suggest Hispanics for Supreme Court

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top Democrats recommended to
President Bush on Tuesday three Hispanic judges among potential
Supreme Court nominees they view as able to win Senate
confirmation without a partisan battle.

They include Judge Edward Prado of the 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the 2nd U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals and U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa of
Texas, according to sources familiar with talks about a nominee
between Bush and Democratic and Republican senators.

Their White House meeting was aimed at averting a drawn-out
fight over a nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice
Sandra Day O’Connor, a key swing vote between the court’s
liberal and conservative wings.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who participated in
the talks, declined to confirm the names offered at the
meeting, but told reporters those mentioned could easily win
Senate confirmation.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, without
naming names floated at the meeting, said he planned to get
back to the White House to recommend still another, Republican
Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.

“He’s very, very smart,” Reid told reporters.

Last month, Reid suggested that Bush consider four other
Republicans senators — Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mel
Martinez of Florida, Mike DeWine of Ohio and Mike Crapo of
Idaho.

Bush, who Reid said “didn’t give us any names” of
candidates he is considering, got suggestions from a number of
people on Tuesday, even his wife.

First lady Laura Bush, on a trip to Africa, told NBC’s
“Today Show” that “I would really like for him to name another
woman,” a statement that caught the president a bit off guard.

“Listen, I get her advice all the time. I didn’t realize
she had put this advice in the press,” Bush said.

FIRST HISPANIC

Bush is seen as interested in appointing the first Hispanic
to the high court and is believed to be considering a personal
friend, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Yet some conservatives have complained that Gonzales may
not be conservative enough. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas
Republican, said he has requested an interview to “hear his
overarching view of the Constitution.”

Bush met at the White House with Reid and Leahy, along with
Senate Republican leader Bill Frist of Tennessee and Senate
Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania
Republican. Leahy is the top Democrat on that panel.

Bush heard out the lawmakers amid his review of the
backgrounds and legal opinions of more than half a dozen
potential candidates to the Supreme Court. He appears unlikely
to make an announcement on his choice until the end of the
month.

Criticized in the past for not consulting sufficiently with
Congress, Bush said he asked the senators their opinions on who
would be suitable for the high court, and how fast they could
hold confirmation hearings so the new justice could start work
when the court reconvenes in October.

DECISIVE VOTE

Democrats want Bush to appoint a moderate like O’Connor,
who often cast the decisive vote on abortion and other
contentious issues. Conservatives want Bush to use the
opportunity to shift the court’s majority firmly to the right.

“I feel comfortable and good that we’re going to be able to
have someone that is a consensus candidate,” Reid said. But he
added, “We have a long way to go.”

Frist said he was concerned that “no amount of consultation
will be sufficient for a few of our colleagues in this body,”
an apparent reference to Democrats.

“Co-nomination rather than consultation may be their
ultimate goal,” Frist said. “But that is not the way the system
works, that is not the way the Constitution works.”

Many of those mentioned as potential nominees are appeals
court judges. Specter, Reid and Leahy said Bush should also
consider some non-judges.