Charles Ogletree, a leftist black professor at Harvard Law School who taught and is said to have mentored both Eric Holder and the future Mr. And Mrs. Obama, is publicly predicting that the president’s nominee to succeed Eric Holder will be a woman. This makes sense, in no small part to deflect any criticism as part of the GOP’s purported war on women. As Hillary Clinton has demonstrated, playing the role of benighted victim has a political payoff for Democrats.

Ruby Cramer of Buzzfeed reports:

[Ogletree] made the comments on MSNBC during a segment about Holder, who announced on Thursday that he planned to step down from the Justice Department after six years at its helm.

“I’m not gonna put her name out,” Ogletree said. “We’ll just see what happens, because I don’t want her to not be able to be confirmed by the Senate.” (snip)

Ogletree, in an interview with MSNBC’s Alex Witt, employed the female pronoun multiple times while discussing who could follow Holder in the role.

CO: He’s also been very sensitive about the issue of civil rights, about civil justice, about the right of people to be treated equally with regard to their sexual orientation, [and] immigrants — how important it’s been to him. I think we’re gonna have a long way to go to figure out who she will be — and I hope it will be a woman — who will replace him, because I think he’s had a big impact on American and on the world as attorney general.

[…]

AW: And Charles, I am out of time, but I’d love to ask you quickly: Whom do you choose to replace him? Top picks?

C: I’m not gonna say, because I got into trouble last time I said that, butshe would be a great attorney general.

AW: But you said a woman — “she”!

CO: I said she would be a great attorney general. And I’m not gonna put her name out. We’ll just see what happens, because I don’t want her to not be able to be confirmed by the Senate. And I think he’s gonna be sitting there for a long time waiting for the Republican senators to confirm a Democratic candidate, but I think she will be a great attorney general, and she will be in the steps of Janet Reno and other people and I think that will be great for the White House and the Department of Justice.

Buzzfeed mentions as one possibility California’s AG Kamala Harris, who is a twofer, being of African-American and Asian-American heritage in addition to being female. One other possibility mentioned is Jenny Durkan, the US Attorney in Seattle, who may also be a twofer as a lesbian (I am not familiar with her status, but Buzzfeed tells us the “LGBT advocacy community” is urging her selection.)

Glenn Reynolds wittily suggests another possibility: