Jeff Greenfield Had Some News for Imus

Jeff Greenfield doesn’t have much of an ear for current music, preferring instead to listen to songs from the period when he grew up. When Imus suggested his pal, a senior political correspondent at CBS News, check out the Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, featuring the music of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and others, Greenfield was less than receptive.

He said, “The view that my wife has about this is, why don’t we actually play the music instead of seeing people pretending to be—“

“She’s wrong,” Imus jumped in. “Absolutely wrong.”

Having settled that debate, the two moved on to matters political, specifically President Obama’s announcement that he would nominate Solicitor General Elena Kagan to fill the Supreme Court slot being vacated by Justice John Paul Stevens.

The initial reaction of the Right had been to claim they’ll oppose “whoever Obama nominates,” said Greenfield. “Part of this is that they figure whoever he nominates, we’re not going to like, and an argument some conservatives, like Sean Hannity, have made is let’s gin up our base—gotta get ready for midterms.”

Besides, he added, “Nothing gets the blood going on the part of ideologues than a good Supreme Court fight.”

Kagan has never served on any court, and has some positions that could be considered problematic among Democrats, like her sympathy for the Bush administration’s view of broad Executive powers. “I don’t think that one’s going to fly,” said Greenfield, who was more intrigued by something else Kagan wrote 15 years ago.

“She wrote an essay in a book that the Senate confirmation process was essentially a charade, that the judges, ever since Robert Bork actually told the Senators what he thought and got defeated, they play this game where the prospective justice pretends to have really no opinion,” he said.

This statement will likely provoke Senators to dig deep with Kagan, about whom little is widely known. “She will say what every prospective justice says,” said Greenfield. “I can’t talk about any case where I might have to rule.”

Greenfield has been busy lately working on a book he was reluctant to describe publicly, telling Imus only that it’s “a recent look at American political history through a fictional looking glass,” and that it will be out next February. Oh, and one more thing.

“Under the deal we have, next February on your show is exclusively devoted to promoting this book,” said Greenfield. “That’s all I expect you to talk about.”

Message received.

-Julie Kanfer