On the recordAugust 3, 2010
My view of Elena Kagan is quite simple. I found her to be a good, decent person; well qualified in terms of her legal background to sit on the Court. The people who know her the best, who worked with her, have nothing but good things to say about her. She is not someone a Republican President would have picked--she is definitely in the liberal camp when it comes to judging--but I think within the mainstream of the left wing of the Court. The Court has two wings to it. A lot of decisions are--not a lot, some decisions are 5-4. But you know who the conservatives on the Court are and you know who the liberals are. The one thing they have in common is that they are highly qualified, great Americans who happen to view the law a bit differently in terms of philosophy. But they have brought honor to the Court. Justice Ginsburg is definitely in the left wing of the Court. Justice Scalia is definitely in the right wing of the Court. From what I have been told, they have a deep personal friendship; that Justices Scalia and Ginsburg have become fast friends and admire each other even though they often cancel out each other's vote and they have some real good give and take in their opinions.
