Supreme Court Pick

Obama pick for new Supreme Courtier: Sonia Sotomayor. Of those on the short list she was probably the least objectionable - extremely liberal but a good legal mind. Fortunately there will be no real change in the composition of the bench - right now.

Update: Take a look at this post by Ilya Somin at the Volokh Conspiracy:

I am also not favorably impressed with her notorious statement that "a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Not only is it objectionable in and of itself, it also suggests that Sotomayor is a committed believer in the identity politics school of left-wing thought. Worse, it implies that she believes that it is legitimate for judges to base decisions in part based on their ethnic or racial origins. Stuart Taylor's comments on Sotomayor's speech are telling:

Any prominent white male would be instantly and properly banished from polite society as a racist and a sexist for making an analogous claim of ethnic and gender superiority or inferiority.

Imagine the reaction if someone had unearthed in 2005 a speech in which then-Judge Samuel Alito had asserted, for example: "I would hope that a white male with the richness of his traditional American values would reach a better conclusion than a Latina woman who hasn't lived that life" -- and had proceeded to speak of "inherent physiological or cultural differences."

During his press conference announcing Sotomayor Obama gets his tongue wrapped around his neck with all of his liberal speak about the importance of personal experience over the understanding of law. Then he has to throw out that it was a "Republican" president that first nominated her. Then he claims that she has more experience now than previous justices did when they were nominated. SAD. He should have shut up and let Sotomayor talk instead he has to keep pushing his foot deeper into his mouth. He is feeling very proud of himself right now as all arrogant liberals of excessive ego.

To rebut Obama's fawning intro to Sotomayor is another quote from Somin's post:

At the same time, her record is far less impressive than that of most other recent nominees, such as Roberts, Alito, Breyer, and Ginsburg...

Sotomayor also seems far less impressive than Diane Wood and Elena Kagan, reputedly her top rivals for this nomination. The current nominee's qualifications are likely better than Harriet Miers' were; but Miers' nomination failed in large part because of her relatively weak resume...

That said, Supreme Court appointments are almost never purely merit based. Sotomayor joins a long line of nominees who were chosen in part because of political, ethnic, or gender considerations.

Read Somin's entire post, it is worth it.