Luttig for the Supreme Court

I read in yesterday's Washington Post that J. Michael Luttig (a federal judge on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals) is on Bush's short list for the Supreme Court.

Luttig was a clerk under Justice Antonin Scalia when Scalia was an Appelate Court judge. In my view, Scalia is the best judge on the Supreme Court. There is a great deal of osmosis that goes on between a judge and his/her clerks. I suspect that Luttig's judicial thinking and philosophy are similar to and have been influenced and shaped by Scalia. We need more of that thinking and philosophy on the Supreme Court.

Some things to note about Luttig from the article:

• "Those who know Luttig describe him as a warm and engaging but private man, who speaks in a Texas drawl and rarely goes to Washington social events." Luttig's been in DC for a while but hasn't been seduced by the "Beltway" atmosphere.
• "Luttig is well known as one of the federal bench’s leading advocates of the view, also endorsed by Scalia, that the text of constitutional provisions and statutes should be interpreted as close to literally as possible." 'Nuff said! :-)