Pamela Karlan: Reflections on the "Short list"

In a coincidental turn of events, Stanford Professor Pamela Karlan directly spoke to her feelings on one of the questions posed in last Thursday's post: are the choices women make to get to the top also going to stand in the way of a nomination?

Karlan, one of the names widely circulated as being on the "short list" for a Supreme Court nomination, spoke at Stanford law school's graduation for the Class of 2009.

Would I like to be on the Supreme Court? You bet I would. But not enough to have trimmed my sails for half a lifetime. Sure, I’ve done lots of things I regret over the years. But the things I regret aren’t the things that keep someone from being nominated or getting confirmed. I regret being unkind to people I love and respect and admire. I regret getting frustrated by little things. I regret never taking a summer off. I regret not being able to stick to a diet. But I don’t regret taking sides on questions involving the Voting Rights Act. I don’t regret helping to defend the constitutional rights of criminal defendants. I don’t regret litigating cases on behalf of gay people. I don’t even regret being sort of snarky.

After reading Karlan's speech, the only thing I regret is the low probability that I'll ever get to meet her.