Republicans wasted little time this morning staking out turf for challenging President Obama's nomination of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans would not "rush to judgment" and would question Kagan's "brief litigation experience, as well as judgment and her career in academia." If "academia" is code for questioning the fact that Kagan has never been a judge, history might work against the GOP leader. The late Chief Justice William Rehnquist was never a judge before joining the court. Former California Gov. Earl Warren was another non-judge who not only made it to the high court but ended up as chief justice. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, who will lead confirmation hearings, was among those urging Obama to pick a non-judge.

While McConnell said Republicans would be in no hurry to confirm Kagan, Leahy urged the Senate to act before the start of the August recess. That timetable would put Kagan on the bench in time for the start of the court's fall term.

"Our constituents deserve a civil and thoughtful debate on this nomination, followed by an up-or-down vote," he said.

Democrats are optimistic because seven Republicans voted to confirm Kagan as solicitor general last year, and they are likely to need only one or two votes to clear the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. But some GOP senators say they will apply a different standard for the court nomination than they did when she was up for solicitor general.