Sen. Orrin Hatch, Obama chat about Supreme Court nomination

WASHINGTON — Just as Sen. Orrin Hatch had urged earlier this month, President Barack Obama called him Wednesday to chat about whom the president should nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens.

But Hatch was relatively mum afterward about exactly who he suggested, if anyone.

"The president and I had a positive conversation this morning, and I encouraged him to nominate someone who could receive wide bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate," Hatch said. "I believe that would be good for the Supreme Court, good for the Senate and, most importantly, good for the country."

At a press conference earlier this month after Stevens announced his retirement, Hatch urged Obama to consult with Republicans on the nomination as he said former President Bill Clinton did years ago to find people who could be easily confirmed.

Hatch said earlier that he has some people in mind who are liberal but not activists who he said he would like to see nominated. But Hatch also said he would not name them publicly because that probably "would be the kiss of death."

In his 2002 memoir "Square Peg," Hatch wrote about when Clinton called him in 1993 to see what he thought of possibly nominating Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to the Supreme Court.

Hatch said he warned Clinton that Babbitt's confirmation "would not be easy" because of stiff Republican opposition. He told Clinton he might prevail in the end but he "should consider whether he wants a tough political battle."

Hatch wrote that he then asked the president whether he had considered nominating instead Stephen Breyer or Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Clinton said he had heard of Breyer, but not Ginsburg.

"I indicated I thought they would be confirmed easily. I know them both and believed that, while liberal, they were highly honest and capable jurists," Hatch wrote.

He added with satisfaction that Ginsburg was nominated to the court first, and Breyer was nominated a year later, and both were confirmed relatively easily.

Hatch is a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and also its former chairman. Obama met Wednesday with several leaders of that committee and the Senate to discuss the pending nomination, and also phoned Hatch.

This story was reported from Salt Lake City.

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