U.S.: Does It Matter If Elena Kagan Is A Lesbian?

You really know when people have hit the ridiculous button when hooker-lover Eliot Spitzer is asked to become a credible character witness for a Supreme Court nominee.

Between gay-pundit Andrew Sullivan attacking Elena Kagan's lack of disclosure of her sexuality and the questions over a large picture of Kagan playing softball on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, you might wonder what century we are in.

The attacks on Clarence Thomas, based on never-proven charges of sexual harassment, before he became a Supreme Court justice highlight the sometimes bizarre line of questioning opponents take when trying to derail a nomination. But at no time has anyone ever asked a Supreme Court nominee his or her sexual orientation. Does anyone even know, without googling, which justice is married or not? Does it matter?

Some say yes, that with contentious issues like Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the federal Marriage Act possible future cases, it matters. Others, say it's the legal trail that should trump all. But anyway, the recent media storm questioning Kagan's orientation seems much ado over nothing.

“I’ve known her for most of her adult life and I know she’s straight,” Sarah Walzer, Kagan’s roommate in law school and a close friend, told Politico. “She dated men when we were in law school, we talked about men — who in our class was cute, who she would like to date, all of those things. She definitely dated when she was in D.C. after law school, when she was in Chicago – and she just didn’t find the right person.”

And another friend, former New York Governor Spitzer, a member of Kagan’s social circle at Princeton University, agreed. “I did not go out with her, but other guys did,” he said in an email Tuesday night. “I don't think it is my place to say more.”

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