Advice and Dissent: President Obama told reporters yesterday that he plans to ignore the Republican threat to wait until after the election to act on a Supreme Court nominee. “There’s no unwritten law that says that it can only be done on off years. That’s not in the Constitutional text,” the president said.

He’s expected to name someone as early as next week.

An awkward part of the president’s history is that he was part of the 2005 filibuster against Samuel Alito, Jr., who was eventually confirmed to the court. Obama skillfully dodged a question about that.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley presented the first crack in the Republican wall yesterday, saying he would not immediately reject an Obama nominee. “I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decisions,” Grassley said.

The Docket: Until a 9^th member of the court is confirmed, here’s what happens. Cases that end in a 4-4 deadlock automatically affirm the Court of Appeals decision without setting a legal precedent. Or, cases can be set for re-argument when there are nine justices.

Some of the critical cases:

-The California teachers “right to work” suit objecting to mandatory union dues.

-A case to determine whether “One Person One Vote” means all eligible voters or just registered voters.

-A case determining abortion rights in Texas.

-A challenge to the Obamacare requirement that some employers must provide contraception with their health insurance.

Sideline Analysis: Also in his press conference yesterday President Obama criticized the whole Republican field of candidates, but said the leading contender Donald Trump will never be president because American voters are too smart. “Being president is a serious job,” he said. “It’s not hosting a talk show or a reality show. It’s not promotion. It’s not marketing. It’s hard. And a lot of people count on us getting it right. And it’s not a matter of pandering and doing whatever will get you in the news on a given day.”

The president also attacked the Republicans’ uniform denial of climate change. “There is not a single candidate in the Republican primary that thinks we should do anything about climate change, that thinks it’s serious,” Obama said. “Well that’s a problem. The rest of the world looks at that and says, ‘Well, how can that be?’”

Obama also said he’s glad he’s not on the ballot this year.

Wrong Number: Apple is fighting a federal court order to unlock the telephone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists who killed 14 people in December. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement that the order is “unprecedented” and “has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.”

The Obit Page: Former UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who served while the Cold War ended, the Soviet Union came apart, and genocide racked Rwanda and Bosnia, has died at age 93. The Egyptian diplomat became the sixth secretary general of the United Nations in 1992. Despite being an Arab who wanted the establishment of a Palestinian state, he played a crucial role in the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.

His tenure was quietly marked, and stymied, by the US and the Clinton administration, which he accused of trying to control where he travelled, who he met, and what to say in public speeches.

The Dogs: CJ, a 3-year-old male German shorthaired pointer won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show last night. Who’s a good boy?.

Small Screen: Fox News has announced that morning host Ainsley Earhardt has been named to replace Elizabeth Hasselbeck on the mid-morning show “Fox & Friends.” It’s just an amazing coincidence, but like her predecessors Hasselbeck, and Gretchen Carlson, she’s a bodacious blonde.

Downrange: Trailing Republican candidate Jeb! Bush tweeted a picture of a handgun engraved with “Gov. Jeb Bush” given to him by a South Carolina gun maker. A flurry of Internet wisecracks have said “suicide is not the answer” and that the picture is more popular than Jeb! himself. Somehow Bush has managed to shoot himself in the campaign with a gun he’s never fired.