WASHINGTON (AP/Huffington Post) - Bill Clinton says someone who hasn't been a judge should be considered for the Supreme Court.
But scratch the idea of the ex-president or his wife as a justice.
Clinton suggested that President Barack Obama follow a model that Clinton used when he tried unsuccessfully to persuade then-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and then-Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to agree to be nominated to the high court.
Justice John Paul Stevens' recent decision to retire hands Obama a second chance to shape the court.
Clinton, who has not been a judge, said that at 63, told ABC's "This Week" that he's too old to be considered, much as he might enjoy serving on the Supreme Court. He said his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, also might have been interested in past years, but not now.
"She's like me, you know, we're kind of doers," the former president said. "We like being out there and doing things, rowing our own boat and making changes we could see happen."
Bill Clinton, who also had two court vacancies during his first years in office, ended up nominating two federal appeals court judges, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Ginsburg was 60 and Breyer was in his early 50s.
The former president urged Obama to pick someone around 50 years old.
"Because I'm already 63-years-old, I hope I live to be 90. I hope I'm just as healthy as Justice Stevens is. But it's not predictable," Clinton told ABC's Jake Tapper. "I'd like to see him put someone in there, late 40s, early 50s, on the court and someone with a lot of energy for the job."
Obama's Democratic predecessor in the White House says Cuomo and Mitchell, who had been a judge before serving in the Senate, would have made good justices, but both turned him down. He said he hopes Obama takes a look at someone who hasn't been a judge.
Among those reported to be under consideration, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, has never been a judge.
Others who fit that description are Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, 52, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, 51 and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, 53.
Last year, Obama chose another federal appellate judge, Sonia Sotomayor.
Watch Video Of Clinton's Appearance:
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