My own hunch, given the president's own commitment to diversity on the federal bench, is that he is going to have a strong bias in favor of selecting a qualified woman or minority for this second seat.
All else being equal, the president would go for diversity. Women and minorities will be among the candidates considered,
Because of the pool problem, we did carefully examine law firms and professors as well in looking for good women and minorities to appoint as district judges and appellate judges.
The pressure to find a woman or a minority if anything will be even greater this time around, I have a sneaking suspicion it would be either a woman or Gonzales.