Changes

==Nomination to the Supreme Court==

==Nomination to the Supreme Court==

On May 10, 2010, President Obama nominated Kagan to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court justice [[John Paul Stevens]]. The 50 year old (in 2010) Kagan has years of experience in the legal field but has never served on the judicial bench. Kagan is the third woman currently seated on the court, and her confirmation marks the the first time in [[American history]] that the Supreme Court has no [[Protestant]] members, as the Jewish Kagan would replace the sole [[Protestant]], Stevens. <ref>ABC news, ''The Conversation: Elena Kagan Nominated to Supreme Court'', May 10, 2010</ref> Due to her young age, Kagan could potentially serve decades on the Court.<ref>God allowing.</ref>  

On May 10, 2010, President Obama nominated Kagan to fill the seat of retiring Supreme Court justice [[John Paul Stevens]]. The 50 year old (in 2010) Kagan has years of experience in the legal field but had never served on the judicial bench, until her swearing in on August 7 , 2010 as a Supreme Court justice. Kagan is the third woman currently seated on the court, and her confirmation marks the the first time in [[American history]] that the Supreme Court has no [[Protestant]] members, as the Jewish Kagan replaced the sole [[Protestant]], Stevens. <ref>ABC news, ''The Conversation: Elena Kagan Nominated to Supreme Court'', May 10, 2010</ref> Due to her young age, Kagan could potentially serve decades on the Court.<ref>God allowing.</ref>  

Documents from Kagan's service in the Clinton White House have served to reinforce the conception that Kagan is "a politically savvy, sometimes hard-edged strategist whose views of the Constitution are at odds with those of conservatives", and that she is possessed with "a sharp intellect and somewhat territorial; highly opinionated but eager to facilitate consensus."  

Documents from Kagan's service in the Clinton White House have served to reinforce the conception that Kagan is "a politically savvy, sometimes hard-edged strategist whose views of the Constitution are at odds with those of conservatives", and that she is possessed with "a sharp intellect and somewhat territorial; highly opinionated but eager to facilitate consensus."  

Working with former President Bill Clinton, the Obama White House has sought to ensure that no revelation from the documents harms Kagan's chances.<ref>Associated Press, ''Kagan unscathed after revelations from past'', June 19. 2010</ref> While many liberals fear that Kagan is not liberal enough.<ref>Glenn Greenwald, ''The case against Elena Kagan'', Salon.com, April 13, 2010</ref> Republicans have expressed concern that records will not be fully produced in time for the committee to conduct a proper review before her confirmation hearings, which are scheduled to begin June 28.<ref>Mark Sherman, ''Kagan had role in Clinton White House’s big fights'', Associated Press, June 13, 2010</ref> Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, stated  that there appeared to be 1,600 withheld documents which were not released, apparently due to confidentiality concerns.<ref>[http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=5CF71115-18FE-70B2-A8AEC01EF27C77B2 ''GOP may boycott Kagan hearings''] June 21, 2010</ref>

Working with former President Bill Clinton, the Obama White House sought to ensure that no revelation from the documents harmed Kagan's confirmation chances.<ref>Associated Press, ''Kagan unscathed after revelations from past'', June 19. 2010</ref> While many liberals fear that Kagan is not liberal enough,<ref>Glenn Greenwald, ''The case against Elena Kagan'', Salon.com, April 13, 2010</ref> Republicans expressed concern that records would not be fully produced in time for the committee to conduct a proper review before her confirmation hearings, which were scheduled to begin June 28, 2010.<ref>Mark Sherman, ''Kagan had role in Clinton White House’s big fights'', Associated Press, June 13, 2010</ref> Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, stated  that there appeared to be 1,600 withheld documents which were not released, apparently due to confidentiality concerns.<ref>[http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=5CF71115-18FE-70B2-A8AEC01EF27C77B2 ''GOP may boycott Kagan hearings''] June 21, 2010</ref>

===Preparation by Bill Clinton===

===Preparation by Bill Clinton===

As a result of a request by senators who will vote on her nomination, 90,000 pages of records from the Clinton White House were released which reveal that Kagan played a role in crafting former [[President Bill Clinton]]’s policies on abortion, assisted suicide, religious freedom, gun control, welfare reform and tobacco. In addition, they also show that Kagan was part of Clinton's small army of lawyers which unsuccessfully sought to postpone Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against him. As a result of her work, Clinton sought to gain her a seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, often a steppingstone to the Supreme Court, an appointment which the [[Republican]]-controlled Senate opposed. In response to Kagan's note of thanks, the former President stated,  "I was honored to nominate you - you will be a wonderful judge if we can get you through - and young enough to have a profound impact."<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/12/documents-show-kagan-a-political-pragmatist/print/ ''Kagan had role in Clinton White House’s big fights'', [[Associated Press]]  June 12, 2010</ref>

As a result of a request by senators who would vote on her nomination, 90,000 pages of records from the Clinton White House were released which revealed that Kagan played a role in crafting former [[President Bill Clinton]]’s policies on abortion, assisted suicide, religious freedom, gun control, welfare reform and tobacco. In addition, they also show that Kagan was part of Clinton's small army of lawyers which unsuccessfully sought to postpone Paula Jones’ sexual harassment lawsuit against him. As a result of her work, Clinton sought to gain her a seat on the federal appeals court in Washington, often a steppingstone to the Supreme Court, an appointment which the [[Republican]]-controlled Senate opposed. In response to Kagan's note of thanks, the former President stated,  "I was honored to nominate you - you will be a wonderful judge if we can get you through - and young enough to have a profound impact."<ref>[http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/12/documents-show-kagan-a-political-pragmatist/print/ ''Kagan had role in Clinton White House’s big fights'', [[Associated Press]]  June 12, 2010</ref>

==Confirmation==

==Confirmation==