LOOKING LIKE IT WILL BE DEANNA TROI:

Obama calls 'empathy' key to Supreme Court pick: Interest groups are already lobbying for a woman, minority or solid liberal to succeed Justice David Souter. Obama says he puts empathy, intelligence and independence before ideology. (Janet Hook and Christi Parsons, May 2, 2009, LA Times)

A debate among Democrats over who should replace Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court began emerging Friday between those eager to return the court to its liberal era of 40 years ago and those who are wary of tacking too far to the left.

But President Obama, who will choose the nominee, focused not on volatile ideological questions but on personal character, saying he wanted someone with "empathy" for "people's hopes and struggles." [...]

With white men holding seven of the nine court seats, Obama came under heavy pressure to name a woman or minority, especially a Latino.

Others said they were eager for him to name a high-profile, clear-cut liberal. The last justice to fit that mold was Thurgood Marshall, who took the bench in 1967. Liberal groups argued that the Democratic Party's majority in the Senate, which is nearly large enough to overcome any obstacles set by Republicans, gives Obama far more latitude than most presidents in making his choice.

"If there was ever an opportunity for Obama to make a bold statement, this is the time," Stanford law professor Pamela Karlan said.

Others cautioned that the wrong selection could alienate moderate Democrats or set off a protracted fight with Republicans that could undermine Obama's ambitious healthcare and environmental agenda.

"This is an opportunity for him to make a post-partisan choice to fortify the vital center on the Supreme Court," said Will Marshall, president of the Progressive Policy Institute, a centrist Democratic think tank.

While reviewing the records of potential nominees, the president's advisors have discussed the importance of finding a justice who can build majorities on the court by reaching out to conservatives.