Obama 2005: A “blank slate” Court nominee must be extra forthcoming in hearings; Update: WH blocks NYT from interviewing brother

Via Breitbart, 24-karat audio gold mined from the depths of podcast hell by Naked Emperor News. Reminders of Obama’s Senate record on judicial nominations are always lots of fun, just because it’s an area where he did some of his most shameless, appalling pandering to the left. Remember when he acknowledged that Roberts and Alito were super-qualified but insisted he had to vote no because they didn’t have enough “empathy” ‘n stuff? Remember how he actually voted to filibuster Alito, a move that would have our low-rent in-the-tank national media reaching for smelling salts if the GOP pulled it against Kagan? All of that was Obama’s way of sucking up to his base ahead of his presidential campaign; what a joy to be able to use it — and this — against him now for a nominee whom even his biggest toady in the blogosphere describes as embodying “a new level of utter blankness.” Think the bit about being extra forthcoming still holds?

Incidentally, Scott Brown sounds like he’s perfectly satisfied with Kagan’s position on military recruiters, so if you’re dreaming of an Obama-esque filibuster in this case, dream on.

Update: Remember — extra “forthcoming.”

The New York Times received permission on Tuesday from Hunter College High School in Manhattan, Elena Kagan’s alma mater, to observe a constitutional law class there taught by her brother Irving. We thought it would be intriguing to watch the give and take between Mr. Kagan, who is known as a passionate and interactive educator, and his students on his first day back after witnessing his sister’s nomination in Washington.

Mr. Kagan, who is also a Hunter alumnus, did not have a problem with the idea, a school spokeswoman said, but she added that all media requests now had to be given final approval by the White House. The times were tentatively set: there was either an 8:52 a.m. class or a 9:36 a.m. class on Wednesday. “I thought it would have been great,” said the spokeswoman, Meredith Halpern.

But when presented with the idea, the White House balked.

Joshua Earnest, a White House spokesman, said that the administration was “uncomfortable with the idea at this time.”

Her cousin’s suddenly not talking to reporters either. How about it, champ?

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