Justice Sotomayor
President Barack Obama named federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as the nation’s first Hispanic Supreme Court justice on Tuesday, praising her as “an inspiring woman” with both the intellect and compassion to interpret the Constitution wisely.
Sotomayor is a politically smart choice. She is of course a liberal, but not out on the extreme enough to trigger a fight to the death with conserative opponents.
She has been a Judge for 17 years and was confirmed 68-28 in 1998 to the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals.
Also demographics of course will play a role. As the first Latino to be nominated to the Supreme Court, Republicans will be wary about blocking her appointment. Plus Obama probably has the numbers to over-ride a filibuster.
If I had to make a guess now, I’d say she’ll go through around 65 – 35.
This is unlikely to be Obama’s only appointment. John Paul Stevens is 89 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg 76.