In case you were wondering whether noted Constitutional Law professor Barack Obama had designs on joining the Supreme Court once he’s out of office – and who wasn’t? – the Commander-in-Chief reassured the New Yorker‘s Jeffrey Toobin that he would prefer a role that afforded him more free time. 

As Marine One thundered overhead, about to land on the White House lawn and take Obama to a series of political fund-raisers, I asked him if, like William Howard Taft, he entertained thoughts of serving as a judge later in his career. “When I got out of law school, I chose not to clerk,” he said. “Partly because I was an older student, but partly because I don’t think I have the temperament to sit in a chamber and write opinions.” But he sounded tempted by the idea.

“I love the law, intellectually,” Obama went on. “I love nutting out these problems, wrestling with these arguments. I love teaching. I miss the classroom and engaging with students. But I think being a Justice is a little bit too monastic for me. Particularly after having spent six years and what will be eight years in this bubble, I think I need to get outside a little bit more.”

Now that he’s worked so hard on his golf handicap, he can’t afford to lose all the skills he’s acquired. Not that any of us will be sad to see him out of the running for a life-long appointment.