It's official: Kagan '81 makes it three in a row

All of us are in a state of despair, with Dean's Date looming over us, but let's just take a quick moment to engage in some "school spirit" (I hear it's a real thing):President Obama will nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan '81 to the Supreme Court, NBC's Pete Williams is reporting tonight. And the White House will officially announce the selection at a 11 AM event tomorrow (Monday), according to The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder.Kagan, who previously served as the dean of Harvard Law, will be the third consecutive Princetonian to be picked for the nation's high court, joining Justices Samuel Alito '72 and Sonia Sotomayor '76 on the bench.Princeton will be the most represented college on the Supreme Court, assuming Kagan is confirmed. Stanford is next with two alumni (Kennedy and Breyer) on the Court. Other colleges represented are Harvard (Roberts), Georgetown (Scalia), Holy Cross (Thomas), and Cornell (Ginsburg). Retiring Justice John Paul Stevens graduated from the University of Chicago.Kagan would be the third Jewish Supreme Court justice if confirmed, leaving exactly zero Protestants on the bench (Stevens is the only one left). She would also be the first Solicitor General to be appointed to the Court since Thurgood Marshall (for whom she clerked after graduating from Harvard Law). Marshall's nickname for Kagan? Shorty! (She's less than 5'3".)And Kagan is the second member from the Class of 1981 who has become a superstar in American politics. The other alumnus: Eliot Spitzer '81. (We will refrain from making any prostitute jokes.)Oddly, it might be liberals who will be more upset with Kagan, who has supported a more expansive view of executive power than many on the Left find palatable. Still, expect Republicans to mount a large effort against Kagan by arguing that she's "radical" and too gay rights-friendly. In particular, they cite Kagan's criticism of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy during her time as dean of Harvard Law as particularly troublesome:

I believe that policy is profoundly wrong — both unwise and unjust…and I look forward to the day when all our students, regardless of sexual orientation, will be able to serve and defend this country in the armed services.

Last year, the Senate voted to confirm Kagan 61-31, including seven Republicans, when she was nominated Solicitor General, so chances are she'll be hanging with our girl Sonia (and maybe our homeboy Sam? Probably not...) when the Supreme Court begins its new term in October.See our previous posts on Kagan here, here, and here.And you can find our past coverage of Justice Sotomayor and her time at Princeton here, here, and here.