How -- and why -- Barack Obama picked Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court
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Updated: 5/26/09 4:19 PM EDT
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President Barack Obama called Judge Sonia Sotomayor at 9 p.m. on Memorial Day to say she was his pick for the Supreme Court.
Obama showed he was willing to pick a fight with his choice — Republicans do not consider her a “consensus” nominee and had signaled that they considered her the most liberal of the four finalists.
He played smart base politics with the historic selection of a Hispanic (a first) and a woman.
And he fulfilled his pledge to pick someone with a common touch by nominating someone who was raised in a Bronx housing project, and lost her father at age 9.
Right after talking to Sotomayor on Monday night, the president telephoned the three other finalists, each of whom he had formally interviewed for the job — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appeal Judge Diane Wood of Chicago.
Then the president called the two Senate leaders and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning.
By making the pick during a congressional recess, when lawmakers are
back home or on far-flung foreign trips, Obama caught the Republican
minority off-guard, with critics not equipped to respond with the force
they would during the session.
Although the press reported that he had interviewed Wood, Sotomayor was at the White House for seven hours on Thursday without being discovered by reporters.
An Obama aide said the president, who interviewed her for an hour in the Oval Office, “was blown away by her — her personal story, her sharp intellect and confidence, and her experience as prosecutor, trial judge, litigator and appellate judge.”
There was a “full vet,” according to a senior administration official, and both her taxes and health were examined.
Sotomayor has diabetes, and White House aides consulted both her doctor and other doctors to ensure that she was fit to serve.
“I don’t think there’s any stone that’s been left unturned,” said a senior administration official.
Ironically, it’s the pick both sides wanted:
— As the most arguably liberal of the four finalists, Sotomayor provides the most fodder for conservative groups, which have vowed to spend millions of dollars on television advertising. Leaders hope a court brawl will help rebuild their movement.
— Democrats like that Justice David Souter is being replaced by a Hispanic woman, and feel sure she’ll be confirmed. As insurance, they note that when she was confirmed for the federal appeals court in 1998, among those voting for her were then-Sen. Bill Frist and then-Sen. Rick Santorum, both of whom are abortion opponents.
Democrats contend that Sotomayor does not have a long paper trail on hot-button social issues, especially abortion. In one case, the administration will argue she came down on the side of judicial restraint.
Obama showed he was willing to pick a fight with his choice — Republicans do not consider her a “consensus” nominee and had signaled that they considered her the most liberal of the four finalists.
He played smart base politics with the historic selection of a Hispanic (a first) and a woman.
And he fulfilled his pledge to pick someone with a common touch by nominating someone who was raised in a Bronx housing project, and lost her father at age 9.
Right after talking to Sotomayor on Monday night, the president telephoned the three other finalists, each of whom he had formally interviewed for the job — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and federal appeal Judge Diane Wood of Chicago.
Then the president called the two Senate leaders and ranking members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday morning.
Although the press reported that he had interviewed Wood, Sotomayor was at the White House for seven hours on Thursday without being discovered by reporters.
An Obama aide said the president, who interviewed her for an hour in the Oval Office, “was blown away by her — her personal story, her sharp intellect and confidence, and her experience as prosecutor, trial judge, litigator and appellate judge.”
There was a “full vet,” according to a senior administration official, and both her taxes and health were examined.
Sotomayor has diabetes, and White House aides consulted both her doctor and other doctors to ensure that she was fit to serve.
“I don’t think there’s any stone that’s been left unturned,” said a senior administration official.
Ironically, it’s the pick both sides wanted:
— As the most arguably liberal of the four finalists, Sotomayor provides the most fodder for conservative groups, which have vowed to spend millions of dollars on television advertising. Leaders hope a court brawl will help rebuild their movement.
— Democrats like that Justice David Souter is being replaced by a Hispanic woman, and feel sure she’ll be confirmed. As insurance, they note that when she was confirmed for the federal appeals court in 1998, among those voting for her were then-Sen. Bill Frist and then-Sen. Rick Santorum, both of whom are abortion opponents.
Democrats contend that Sotomayor does not have a long paper trail on hot-button social issues, especially abortion. In one case, the administration will argue she came down on the side of judicial restraint.
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