Sonia Sotomayor: The Right Choice for the Supreme Court?

There's one person who has alienated parts of his base as reality collides with his stated agenda. Now, Mr. Obama has nominated an Hispanic Woman to be the next USSC Associate Justice. Is this a payback for the folks who felt let down by his first hundred odd days?

Sonia Sotomayor is currently a sitting judge in the appellate court system. She went to the right law school and has punched all the right tickets. But is she the right woman for the job?

Mr. Obama stated:

"First and foremost is a rigorous intellect, a mastery of the law, an ability to hone in on key issues. . . . Second is a recognition of the limits of the judicial role . . . that a judge's job is to interpret, not make law," he said. "Yet these qualities alone are insufficient. We need something more."

What's also needed on the high court, the president said, is "experience that can give a person a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live."

Not much to go on there. The only error in the soundbyte is that a Judge isn't supposed to interpret the Constitution or any law arising from it. A judge is supposed to apply the law as written. I hope that during the Judge Sotomayor's confirmation process, that is brought out quickly and often.

I'm afraid that I don't know of the lady enough to oppose her. But, one of the first things I found when googling her for quotes is...

I would hope 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.

and

This month, for example, a video surfaced of Judge Sotomayor asserting in 2005 that a “court of appeals is where policy is made.” She then immediately adds: “And I know — I know this is on tape, and I should never say that because we don’t make law. I know. O.K. I know. I’m not promoting it. I’m not advocating it. I’m — you know.”

Both quotes strike me as a person who has an inflated sense of her own importance in the world. Hopefully, as time goes on I will be proven wrong.