On Miguel Estrada

Over at Confirm Them, the name of Miguel Estrada continues to surface as a potential Supreme Court nominee.

I don’t know Miguel Estrada well, having attended a small dinner party with him once over ten years ago. My impression was that he is brilliant and quite conservative. However, my understanding had been that he did not wish to be considered. Certainly, his entire view could change if he’s actually offered the job — but with the fight that he’ll face, it would certainly seem reasonable for the nominee to be someone who is willing to fight for the job because he wants it badly . . . .

And setting the particulars of an Estrada nomination aside, here’s one further consideration for The White House: Temperament. Whoever the nominee is, he/she will be significantly benefited by a disarming personality that makes it difficult for the Democrats to attack without being revealed as creates of the most bloodthirsty and rabid kind. In my view, arrogance (real or perceived) could be a fatal flaw in any nominee — male or female, Latino, white, black, green or purple.