"I think it's a very wise move to consider experience that is not just from the judicial monastery because -- I mean it's not just me, you know Janet Napolitano, people that have applied the laws that Congress enacts, that have seen their impact on people, that -- you know, I mean I'm from the most challenged state in the country," Granholm told CNN's "State of the Union." "And, you know, for somebody to experience and see what everyday people are feeling and experiencing out there, I think is an important thing to consider."

The issue of her being an unorthodox pick was discussed, but of course the well-paid Candy Crowley failed to address another possible issue that could stymie a Granholm pick:  the fact that she's Catholic, and would become the 7th on the Bench, with no Protestants.  

Other than that, Granholm meets about all the criteria for an ideal pick:  smarts, diverse real world experience, young (51), elite law school, personable, liberal, already vetted.

Not that I think she was any strong liberal voice in her previous job -- she was mostly lightly liberal -- but her presence might tend to check what could otherwise be some too-conservative and bland mainstream tendencies by religious guy Meacham.

   * The bill would remove the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act, and the states' authority to set tougher emissions standards than the federal government.
    * There will be no fee--or "gas tax"--on transportation fuels. Instead, oil companies would also be required to obtain pollution permits but will not trade them on the market like other polluters. How this would work is not yet clear.
    * Agriculture would be entirely exempt from the cap on carbon emissions.
    * Manufacturers would not be included under a cap on greenhouse gases until 2016.
    * The bill would provide government-backed loan guarantees for the construction of 12 new nuclear power plants.
    * It will contain at least $10 billion to develop technologies to capture and store emissions from coal-fired power plants.
    * There will be new financial incentives for natural gas.
    * The bill would place an upper and lower limit on the price of pollution permits, known as a hard price collar. Businesses like this idea because it ensures a stable price on carbon. Environmental advocates don't like the idea because if the ceiling is set too low, industry will have no financial incentive to move to cleaner forms of energy.
    * The energy bill passed by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year will be adopted in full. This measure has sparked concerns among environmentalists for its handouts to nuclear and fossil fuel interests.
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MONTREAT, N.C. -- President Obama arrived at Rev. Billy Graham's mountaintop log cabin Sunday afternoon, making a brief visit to the 91-year-old evangelist who has been a spiritual adviser to presidents for seven decades.

The pair met for about a half-hour as Obama ended a brief vacation in nearby Asheville, and prepared to depart for a somber memorial service in West Virginia on behalf of 29 miners who died when an explosion rocked their coal mine.

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And Obama goes hiking. CSM has a backhanded view of "progressive" Asheville and Obama...