The First Black President Nominates the First Hispanic Supreme Court Justice

And the first black President hands the Republican Party a dilemma: Further alienate the country's fastest-growing minority group or abandon their "Party of No" resistance strategy at the first test?

It's like the Civil War wreath-laying thing for Memorial Day. Yes, Obama continued the practice of honoring the dead traitors. It's an expression of his avowed Lincolnism - malice for none, charity toward all.  But he also began the practice of sending a wreath to the memorial to African-American Union soliders - the ones that the Confederates would routinely murder or enslave if they managed to capture them. The contrast is nice and instructive.

It's so nice we elected not just the smart one, but the shrewd one.

Comments

[Glomarization]

Also, Judge Sotomayor was a G.H.W. Bush nominee to the federal bench in the first place. And when she was nominated for the Court of Appeals, the confirming Senators included seven currently sitting Republicans -- very nice move on President Obama's part.

He must have data management people with skills like the people who dig up sports statistics for major league baseball or the NFL. How would that query have gone? "Get a list of all the judges on the Circuit Courts of Appeals who was nominated by George H.W. Bush. Now identify the one who had the highest number of confirmation votes by Republican Senators who are still currently in office."

[zenpundit]

hi Mithras,

Obama is very shrewd. You do not glide through Daley machine politics unscathed without having some skills.

My take on Sotomayor:

If her asinine comment re: white guys is a one time speech thing, she'll have an uncomfortable moment or two during the hearings but skate through without a problem. If her judicial record casts her as a "quota queen", she won't make it. Not with unemployment at 9 %. The last thing a bunch of laid off white guys at the union hall with GEDs want to hear is how somebody who went to Princeton and Yale thinks they are too overprivileged.

Without that, all the GOP has is judicial activism but they would need 2-3 really colorful, wingnutty, examples for anyone to care. Or one good one plus something else like not paying income taxes or a personal scandal. That won't fly very well either.

[girlnumber4]

Shrewd seems to be the characteristic that surprises everyone. Is is possible that America thought they elected a lawn jockey? I'm steadily impressed.