Analysis: New justice may reignite social issues

Many legal scholars have argued that elected officials have often made some of the best justices because they're (a) better able to persuade and find consensus, and (b) they have a more practical, less theoretical approach to the law.

Many of the best Supreme Court justices - Earl Warren, Charles Evans Hughes, Hugo Black - were politicians. We haven't had one in a long time. The last Supreme Court justice to have any experience in elective politics was Sandra Day O'Conner, who had been a member of the Arizona State Senate prior to becoming a judge. The last politician to be directly appointed was, I believe Earl Warren. Arthur Goldberg (Kennedy appointee) had been a cabinet secretary.

Bill Clinton did offer a nomination to Mario Cuomo, who turned it down. Jeffrey Toobin has said that Clinton actually has told friends and associates that he regrets not naming a politician to the bench.