Elena Kagan: The Fight Ahead
President Obama did not surprise many people with his choice for the Supreme Court, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, but that does not mean Kagan will face an easy route to the bench.
"Mr. Obama is hoping to quickly fill the vacancy left by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, and the moderate-liberal Kagan is seen as a relatively uncontroversial choice. But as CBS News Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford said on Washington Unplugged Monday, there are several factors that may give Kagan problems when she faces a Senate confirmation hearing.
"That's kind of ironic," said Crawford, "because for years Republicans have been calling for someone outside of the judicial monastery."
"Crawford said this pick differed from Mr. Obama's last Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor."
Some of the left see Kagan as more conservative than they would like. But she has also taken steps that anger the right: Including her decision as dean of Harvard Law School to support a longstanding ban on allowing Army recruiters on campus because of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy. Crawford said Republicans may latch on to that position during the confirmation hearings.
"Because this is coming on the eve of a midterm election," said Crawford, "This is a place where the Republican establishment sees they can get real traction with their own base."
Also on Unplugged Monday, CBS News Chief Political Correspondent Marc Ambinder discussed Utah Senator Bob Bennett's defeat this weekend at the Utah GOP state convention. Delegates prevented Bennett from running for a fourth term, something Ambinder said was a direct result of the Tea Party's growing influence.
"An incumbent Republican Senator was essentially defeated by the organizing prowess of the Tea Party in Utah," said Ambinder.
Ambinder said Bennett's fatal mistake was supporting the TARP bank bailout, a position Bennett maintains was the right one.
"Bennett will be the first major casualty of all the anti-Washington, anti-establishment fervor in the Republican Party," said Ambinder.
Watch all of Washington Unplugged above.
Obama Nominates Elena Kagan to Supreme Court
Chip Reid: Why Kagan? In A Word: "Leadership"
Washington Unplugged: Elena Kagan Beyond the Gavel
Jan Crawford: Kagan Is a Strategic, Not Political Pick
Kagan "Honored and Humbled" by Nomination
Peter Maer: Obama Seeks to Frame Kagan Debate on on His Terms
GOP Hits Kagan's Lack of Judicial Experience
The Left Struggles to Define Elena Kagan
Obama Says Kagan "Embodies Excellence"
Photos: Elena Kagan
CBSNews.com Special Report: Elena Kagan