Kagan confirmed

By Michael J.W. Stickings

In case you missed it yesterday:

The Senate confirmed Elena Kagan to a seat on the Supreme Court on Thursday, giving President Obama his second appointment to the court in a year and a victory over Republicans who sharply challenged her credentials and record.

Ms. Kagan, who is set to be sworn in Saturday as the newest member of the court, was approved by a vote of 63 to 37 after hearings and floor debate that showcased the competing views of Democrats and Republicans about the court but exposed no significant stumbling blocks to her confirmation.

She wouldn't have been my pick, but, then, I would have preferred it if Obama had nominated a genuinely progressive jurist and not someone whose major accomplishment seems to have been to have gotten along with conservatives at Harvard.

But, alas...

Still, it's a big victory, if an expected one, for Obama and the Democrats, and perhaps, just perhaps, Kagan will surprise for the better. It is certainly worrying that she seems to have reached the Supreme Court without holding strong views on anything -- she seems almost to be defined by her wishy-washiness -- but she might just find her liberal voice now that she's there.

Here's hoping, anyway. What else can we do?