How Do You Become A Supreme Court Justice By Age 50?

Jillian Bandes | May 10, 2010 7:39 AM

The same way you become President of the United States before age 50 — by greasing the political wheels like you've got nothing else on your mind.

Or, according to the

Washington Post, you could do it by "bringing people together," and "showing your lighter side." Then again, what else would you expect WaPo SCOTUS reporting to say?

Kagan's reputation for bringing together liberals and conservatives on Harvard's notoriously fractious law school faculty appears to hold the key to her rapid rise.

...When Kagan took over as the first female law dean at Harvard, she called the challenge exciting and scary - "but scary in the way that all exciting things are scary." And she pledged to draw on the political and people skills she had developed while serving in government.