If this happens, it would be a real boost for Democrats running for office and should help to undo the media meme of 'depressed Democrats' in this election cycle. Bloomberg is reporting that Elizabeth Warren may be appointed as the interim head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, possibly even this week.

An appointment as interim head of the agency could allow Warren, 61, to bypass a confirmation battle in the Senate, where Republicans have raised objections to her possible nomination.

The selection may be made tomorrow or the following day, said the person, who requested anonymity. The final decision on temporarily installing Warren hasn’t yet been made, said another person familiar with the matter.

I don't want to raise hopes on this, because Elizabeth Warren's appointment is probably the single most hot button to push among progressives right now. Expectations are high for her appointment, and rightly so, given that the whole CFPB was her idea. Not appointing her would be akin to political suicide, but putting her in as interim director is a savvy move to lift progressives' spirits and delay a protracted confirmation battle until Chris Dodd retires after the midterm elections. Her speech at Netroots Nation 2010 demonstrates what a perfect fit this position is for her.

If gestures are any indication, it would appear as though an interim appointment will go to Warren.

White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage said last night that Warren “has been a stalwart voice for American consumers and families and she was the architect of the idea that became the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.” Obama “will have more to say about the agency and its mission soon,” she said.

It would be a smart and savvy move to make. Let's see it happen.

Update: Christopher Dodd is concerned that Congress will de-fund the agency if Warren is appointed. Seems to me the answer to that is to make sure not to give Republicans the power to do it by getting out and voting in November. It's a stupid tactic on Dodd's part, and every time he opposes Warren, he exposes the influence of bank lobbyists and his own sympathies.

Image from Frank Chow, click here for larger. An open thread dedicated to the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation dance. (As a former constituent, I knew Jeff Sessions would bring the crazee.)

Open thread below...

well sir I believe THAT would be crossing the line into the realm of improbability Fafblog!

Oh, this can't be true!

Spying on you at the library, indefinite detainment, torture, preventive wars on the wrong country, oh sure I can see that. But nuking Iran? Well that'd just be crazy.

Legislating From the Bench   Balkinization

President Bush demonstrated his usual capacity for double-speak when he praised Judge John Roberts as a jurist who would "not legislate from the bench." As note on this blog and more extensively in Keck, THE MOST ACTIVIST SUPREME COURT IN HISTORY (mandatory reading during the confirmation hearings), the Rehnquist Court does nothing but "legislate from the bench" with Justices Thomas and Scalia being the most active judicial legislators. Consider the numerous areas in which they impose or would impose limits on state and federal officials.

1. They insist most campaign finance laws are unconstitutional.
2. They insist that most regulations of advertising are unconstitutional.
3. They insist that state legislatures can do little to protect abortion clinices from organized mayhem.
4. Thomas has suggested that elected officials have very limited capacity to regulate handguns.
5. They would use the fifth amendment to dramatically limit the capacity of local legislatures to pursue urban redevelopment.
6. They regard the fifth amendment as also limiting environmental regulations and limiting conditions that local legislatures can attach to private development.
7. They insist that affirmative action is unconstitutional, even though the persons responsible for the equal protection clause passed numerous laws providing special benefits to persons of color. nuking Iran? Well that'd just be crazy.

The NY Times broke this story today :

"Judge Alito's confirmation is also the culmination of a disciplined campaign begun by the Reagan administration to seed the lower federal judiciary with like-minded jurists who could reorient the federal courts toward a view of the Constitution much closer to its 18th-century authors' intent, including a much less expansive view of its application to individual rights and federal power...read on

Ted Kennedy let his thoughts be known about the use of the 'Swift Boat' PR Firm

Download | play -WMP

Despite Bernie Sanders' commonsense arguments, Bernanke squeaked through. Well, good luck with that, I guess. I find what comfort I can in Paul Krugman's prediction that if Bernanke wasn't approved, they'd end up giving in to the Republicans and picking someone who's even worse:

WASHINGTON — The Senate gave Ben S. Bernanke a second four-year term as the head of the Federal Reserve on Thursday after critics excoriated the central bank’s conduct in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

The 70-to-30 vote was the weakest endorsement ever extended to a chairman in the Fed’s 96-year history.

The confirmation was a victory for President Obama, who had called Mr. Bernanke an architect of the recovery, but also signaled the extent to which the Fed, once little known to the public, has become the object of outrage over high unemployment and bank bailouts.

(Video of Obama's announcement and nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor)

The NRA will not be happy, but Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed today to be the first Latina on the Supreme Court. That's a beautiful thing. Rush Limbaugh and Pat Buchanan will be rolling in their racism over this vote.

PFAW:

By a vote of 68 to 31, the Senate today confirmed Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker issued the following statement:

“The confirmation of Sotomayor is a historic step for the nation and a triumph of the American way. The efforts by the NRA and the far right to sabotage her nomination failed badly, with a large majority of Senators uniting to confirm her today. Those Senators will not regret their votes.

Talk Left has the vote count:

The vote was 68-31. In addition to all Democrats and Independents (with the exception of Ted Kennedy, still absent due to his health), 9 Republicans also voted in favor - Voinovich, Bond, Martinez, Alexander, Graham, Collins, Snowe, Gregg and Lugar.

Back in our C&L Time Machine:

Look who's calling Sonia Sotomayor a 'racist': The Right's leading bigots

Pat Buchanan wonders if the nation will survive having 135 million Hispanics

Bob Shrum explodes over Pat Buchanan's racism as Limbaugh uses MLK against Sotomayor

Millard Fillmore’s Bathtub: Reagan Years: A contrarian's view

Newsifact: Desperate bin Laden tries to counter Obama's message to Islamic world with "Joe the Terrorist"

JSOnline: A congressional committee is investigating whether the Food and Drug Administration gave undue influence to chemical makers after several recent reports revealed how government regulators relied heavily on industry lobbyists when considering the safety of the controversial chemical bisphenol A. (h/t swimgirl)

MyDD: Now *that* was mindless obstruction

Lean Left: Battle Without Honor or Humanity

Angry Bear: It Was 20 Years Ago Today...

So the JCN is raising millions, right? They might want to use some of that haul to "revise" their website:

In addition, JCN works to ensure that the confirmation process for all judicial nominees is fair and that every nominee sent to the full Senate receives an up or down vote.

I suspect that their mission will look a bit different now that Obama is nominating the judges.

I don't blame them for being slow to memory hole -- when your organization is an astroturf shop run out of a PR office, staff allocation issues crop up. On that note, I suspect that Media Matters Action Network will prove a valuable resource over the next months.

Vagabond Scholar: The Torture Flow Chart.  And waterboarding isn't "simulated drowning."  It's drowning. 

Peace Action Blog: Senator Kerry's hearing with soldiers on Afghanistan

Kansas Jackass: GOP asshats still blocking Sebelius confirmation

Prose Before Hos: Greg Mankiw's naive analysis of Obama's $100 million budget cuts

Right Wing Watch: Let the hate crimes freakout begin

HOLY CRAP: burkha-logic...The Stinque Zombie Bible...Theocracy in California public schools...Runnning amok in FLA. public schools...Jim Wallis, Lefty?...Saudi government upholds child marriage...Proof of virginity...God's will...Art reflects life...As a Man Pisseth...Is Lying a Traditional Value?

Eli Lake says Republicans intend questioning CIA director-designate Leon Panetta nomination on the basis of his possible involvement in the Clinton administration's illegal rendition activities.

Put aside the glaring hypocrisy of right-wingers suddenly deciding such renditions might be a bad thing after protesting vigorously for eight years that they were an essential and excusable tool in the War On Some Terror. Put aside the hypocrisy of leftwing pundits who are suddenly using the term "extraordinary rendition" where before they had no problem calling an illegal spade a spade.

It's still a good question.

Panetta should face questions like these, and he shouldn’t do what CIA director-designates often do when receiving them, which is offering answers in closed sessions. The public is owed a reckoning about the torture that was done in its name, no matter who was president when it occurred. Just because committee Republicans are being selective and obnoxious about this doesn’t invalidate the principle.

Illegal is illegal, and I for one am heartily sick of those who change their stance on that depending on whether or not "their" guy did it. It's not simply all about closing Gitmo.

Crossposted from Newshoggers