Obama Supreme Court, Justice Obama?

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Hillary Clinton: Obama on the Supreme Court would be a ‘great idea’ - Cruz challenges Trump to ‘mano a mano’ debate; Obama, Sanders to meet

Barack Obama, Supreme Court justice?

That has a nice ring to Hillary Clinton. Speaking at an Iowa town hall event Tuesday night, Clinton was asked what she thought of appointing President Obama to the high court if she were to become president. “I’ll tell you, that’s a great idea!” Clinton told the crowd, according to Politico. Clinton, who is competing with Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Obama likely has other plans for his post-White House life. But she said Obama is “brilliant and can set forth an argument.”

Obama, Sanders to meet:Obama is scheduled to meet with Sanders on Wednesday at the White House. White House press secretary Josh Earnest says there is no formal agenda, The Wall Street Journal reports. The meeting comes after Obama heaped praise on Hillary Clinton and dismissed comparisons between Sanders’ rise in early state polls and Obama’s 2008 campaign against Clinton.

Sanders blocks Obama nominee: One topic that may come up at the meeting: Sanders has placed a hold on Obama’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration. As Roll Call writes, Sanders says Robert Califf, now serving as deputy commissioner at the FDA, is too closely tied to the pharmaceutical industry. While at Duke University, he ran a research operation that received industry funding.

Cruz challenges Trump to debate: With Donald Trump saying he’ll skip Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate, his opponent Ted Cruz is challenging him to a one-on-one contest. CNN has more on Cruz’s challenge, made Tuesday night during a radio interview with host Mark Levin. Trump had threatened to boycott the Fox News debate if the network’s Megyn Kelly served as moderator. “If Donald is afraid of Megyn Kelly, I would like to invite him on your show to participate in a one-on-one debate, between me and Donald, mano a mano,” Cruz said. CNN said Trump’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Cruz’s invitation. Trump has complained about Kelly’s coverage of him since the two clashed at the first debate in August.

U.S. as the ‘new Switzerland’: Bloomberg reports the U.S., after years of blasting other countries for helping wealthy Americans hide their money offshore, is emerging as a leading tax and secrecy haven for rich foreigners. By resisting new global disclosure standards, the U.S. is becoming the go-to place to stash foreign wealth. London lawyers and Swiss trust companies are getting in on the act, Bloomberg says, helping the world’s wealthy move accounts from the Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands to Nevada, Wyoming and South Dakota. Some are calling the U.S. the new Switzerland.