Michael McConnell, a former federal appellate judge, says he mainly takes exceptions to the exceptions.

WSJ: Here's a Funny Idea: Medicare Laws That Are Easy to Read

Also on the short list is Michael McConnell, a widely respected conservative on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

NPR: Possible Vacancy on High Court

"The president is unchecked in a way the other branches are not, " said Michael McConnell, a conservative legal theorist at Stanford Law School.

WSJ: Obama Shifts View of Executive Power

Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell revealed to the El Paso Times that the United States had caught Iraqi terrorists attempting to get into the country across its still-unfenced southern border.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Connect the dots

As the sheer magnitude of the NIE's mistakes became obvious, the current Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Michael McConnell, and CIA Director Michael Hayden felt constrained a few months later to withdraw the NIE's statement that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Intelligence mis-estimates

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell said during an appearance Tuesday at Harvard University said the Mumbai attacks were carried out by the same group responsible for the parliament attack and a series of bomb explosions aboard trains and at railway stations in Mumbai in 2006 -- though he didn't specifically name Lashkar-e-Tayyiba.

CNN: Rice heads to India to ease tensions