Kagan's shifting loyalty

The questions hovering around Elena Kagan, President Barack Obama's new Supreme Court nominee, are troubling indeed.

Kagan, 50, the U.S. solicitor general and a former Harvard Law School dean, has never, ever been a judge.

But that's not the troubling issue.

Throughout her professional life, Kagan has kept her fundamental beliefs well-hidden.

"She was one of the most strategic people I've ever met," John Palfrey, a Harvard law professor hired by Kagan was quoted as saying in the New York Times. "That's true across lots of aspects of her life. She's very effective at playing her cards in every setting I've seen."

Without much of a record, her Senate confirmation hearing won't get bogged down in trivial issues, such as judicial philosophy.

I'm of the view that a president deserves to have his appointees to the Supreme Court confirmed and not have their Netflix accounts exposed to public mockery.

Even so, there's a flaw in her hold-the-cards stealth strategy. It involves conflicting loyalties.

Not on the Constitution, but on another fundamental issue.

Baseball.

Can a Supreme Court nominee with a history of switching baseball team loyalties possess the sober temperament to do the job? The president started it all when he introduced Kagan this past Monday.

According to an official White House transcript, he said: "This appreciation for diverse views may also come in handy as a die-hard Mets fan serving alongside her new colleague-to-be, Yankees fan Justice (Sonia) Sotomayor, who I believe has ordered a pinstripe robe for the occasion. (Laughter)"

Very funny, Mr. President.

Obama insists she's a Mets fan. But those who knew her when she was a University of Chicago professor say she was an avid White Sox fan.

And now she's going to replace retiring Justice John Paul Stevens, a Cubs fan since before Babe Ruth called that shot at Wrigley in the 1932 World Series.

It's clear that Kagan is a baseball fan. There are photographs of her choking up on a bat while playing 16-inch softball. But baseball loyalty, or lack thereof, can tell us a lot about a judge. Is she a Mets fan? A White Sox fan? Or is she so strategic in plotting her Byzantine career path that she also loved the Red Sox while at Harvard? With no judicial record of any kind to focus on, and just a few news clips about how she smoked a cigar once in college and loathed Sen. Alphonse D'Amato, R-N.Y., the Senate Judiciary Committee might have to venture into uncomfortable territory.

Just imagine the Kagan confirmation hearings to come.

The ranking Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama, might start it off in an aggressive manner.

Sessions: Madam Solicitor? President Obama was recently asked who his favorite White Sox players were, and he couldn't name one. In your view, is this a violation of fandom? Or was it just a case of the president with an on-air brain cramp because he was talking to that Nasty Boy, Rob Dibble, in the broadcast booth?

Kagan: I, uh ... I believe the Constitution is unclear on this point.

Sessions: I'd like to follow up, if I may, with another question: The New York Daily News says you're a die-hard Mets fan. So what was Mookie Wilson's real first name?

Kagan: I, uh, at this point in time, to the best of my knowledge ...

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.: Excuse me, but I find this line of questioning to be outrageous and highly partisan. Who knows Mookie's real name, anyway? Mookie doesn't even know. Besides, you're a White Sox fan, correct, Ms. Kagan?

Kagan: I love baseball.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn.: Me, too. A few years ago, when I was still a comedian, I was pitched a great film project. My signature character, Stuart Smalley, was going to be the manager of the Twins. And Al Pacino was going to play Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox. The gag was that he'd introduce me to the umpires, saying, "Say hello to my leedle frien." But I wanted to be a senator instead.

Kagan: Is that a question, Sen. Franken?

Franken: No, just an observation. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and people like me.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.: Aah suppose, Madam Solicitor, that you're also a White Sox fan? And it just so happens that the Charlotte Knights, who now play in a stadium in the great state of South Carolina, are the White Sox Triple-A team. Would you please the committee by illuminating us on your views of the White Sox prospect from Havana, Cuba?

Kagan: Senator, I assume you're speaking of Dayan Viciedo? He's from Remedios, not Havana. He might be a hitter someday, but he's awfully chunky and they've moved him from third to first. He's hitting .279, but he's got power to all fields.

Graham: (gulp of water) No further questions, Mr. Chairman.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa: Madam, it says here on your Netflix history that you show a disturbing proclivity in renting "Bull Durham" at least four times a year, when clearly "Field of Dreams" is the finest baseball movie ever made. Are you a fan of that liberal Susan Sarandon?

Kagan: I have no familiarity with Ms. Sarandon's political views. But senator, after I'm confirmed, you wanna have a catch?

John Kass is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.

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