Umm, Senators Reid and Specter -- how about somebody SMART?

The ever-reasonable David Brooks writes the common sense maxim for choosing a Supreme Court Justice: the person should be an intelligent jurist. An aside of his caught my eye:

If you can find a philosophical powerhouse who is also a member of a minority or a woman (like, say, Mary Ann Glendon), so much the better, but picking a powerhouse matters most.

This is the first time I've seen Glendon's name mentioned, but it makes me very happy to see it. She is extremely intelligent, has a reputation for courtesy and commonsense (a left-leaning acquaintence of mine worked years ago in the Harvard Law School offices and commented often on Glendon's kindness and intelligence). She would make an excellent Justice. My only regret is that she wasn't nominated 12 years ago.

Brooks goes on to extol the virtues of McConnell (who I think would make an excellent Chief Justice -- maybe Bush should wait?)