Some knee-jerk reactions upon hearing that Pres. Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court:
You just had to do it, didn’t you? You just had to name Sotomayor because she’s both female and Hispanic. An irresistible two-fer. Of course, neither of those things has any bearing on her qualifications as a judge. Was hers the best legal mind you could find?? Maybe it was, but you’ll have to convince me.
Hispanic = Catholic = pro-life. Are her personal beliefs going to affect her interpretation of the law? Where is she going to come down on Roe v. Wade–related decisions? Mr. President, you’ve talked a lot about being pro-choice. I hope you haven’t just screwed it up.
If the CVs of all the eligible candidates were submitted — with race, gender, and personal lives omitted — and only the education, work experience, and legal decisions and opinions of each included, who would be picked? Just wondering …
All this will be explored in the confirmation hearings. We’ll just have to wait and see.