The O Team gets a new member

(c) EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images

Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to fill the vacancy on the US Supreme Court is a masterful stroke.

Although Republicans have pointed to her use of “empathy” in judicial deliberations and controversial judgements she has made, it is constantly pointed out that they cannot oppose her too openly for fear of offending Hispanics, a large domestic constituency that have been abandoning their party in recent years.

But it goes deeper than that. Choosing a liberal Hispanic woman to replace a liberal white man is controversial. Were she to be nominated in the future, say to replace a conservative white man thus altering the political composition of the court, the furore would be uncontainable. Obama can have his Hispanic nominee now and still ensure a more liberal court in the future, if the opportunity arises (hint: expect Obama to nominate a white man if 73 year old conservative Antonin Scalia retires).

This is just another great move in the chess game that is presidential politics. It is also a return to form after stumbles with the income tax returns of cabinet nominees, leading to the high profile withdrawal of Tom Daschle as Health Secretary and the embarrassment of new appointees to fiscal positions. Ironically, the same pattern had hit the administration-building efforts of George W Bush, who tapped people who subsequently faced allegations over employing illegal immigrants and paying incorrect payroll taxes before obtaining grudging respect for nominating the current Chief Justice John G Roberts.

So how are Obama’s other nominees performing? In finance and defence it is too early to tell, with reorganised federal agencies, changing policies (think bank bonuses and abuse records) and senior officials inherited from the Bush era, all fogging up the playing field.

But some early predictions, particularly in the field of foreign affairs, haven’t to come to pass. The appointment of Rahm Emanuel was expected to nudge Obama in pro-Israel direction. Many Zionists admit to disappointment on this measure and apparently there is at least one person within the administration claiming that Emanuel’s appointment provided the President with the cover he needs to avoid taking such a pro-Israel stance.

Also, predictions that he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would have a troubled working relationship have not so far come to fruition. Part of this appears due to the appointment of special envoys to all sensitive parts of the world, ensuring that foreign affairs is part in the hands of those he can also trust. Clinton’s appointment has had an added benefit of curtailing Bill Clinton’s international activities, conveniently removing from the public eye one of the few people alive who could possibly upstage Obama.

Obama initially drew little support from senior Democrats while making his run for the Presidency and some of his early advisors were seen as less experienced than those backing Clinton. So when doling out posts he gained plaudits for awarding them on some semblance of merit and not merely to his supporters and backers. Nonetheless even where his appointments have had a strategic bent so far the decisions have served him well.

I just hope Sotomayor’s taxes are in order.