AUDIO: Granholm intends to stay as governor, downplaying Court buzz

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) said Friday that it is her intent to finish her term as governor, dodging a question over whether she’d accept a potential nomination to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.

Granholm, whose name has come up in discussions over a variety of positions in the Obama administration, called talk of a potential Supreme Court nomination “distracting.”

News of Justice David Souter’s impending retirement broke Thursday night, and conventional wisdom in Washington has centered on female candidates to fill the vacancy.

Granholm, a graduate of Harvard University’s law school, is term-limited and cannot seek reelection in 2010. At only 50 years old, she could conceivably act as a reliably liberal jurist for as long as a quarter-century.

“You’re right, I hate this talk because it’s so distracting,” Granholm said on the Paul W. Smith Show on Detroit’s WJR radio station. As I’ve said for months, I intend to finish my term as governor. And, reality check on this: every member of the court is a former judge, and I’m not a judge.”

Granholm refused to elaborate on the potential vacancy.

“If Gov. Jennifer Granholm is offered the highly-regarded and respected position of being a Supreme Court justice of these United States, she would have to accept that offer and take that position,” Smith opined at the end of the segment.

“Gotta go, Paul W.!” Granholm responded.

Listen to the audio of the interview segment, which includes discussions of Chrysler’s bankruptcy and swine flu, here.