Leader: Ever more Sotomayor
- President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, is still the topic du jour here in Washington. The New York Times does a dive into how the President arrived at his decision; evidently, his staff worked hard to "avoid the pitfalls of the past," and Obama personally called every member of the Senate Judiciary committee. The WaPo looks at the political battle lines that have already been drawn: The right, it seems, is latching on to individual remarks Sotomayor has made in the past, and will try to cast her as a "liberal activist waiting to flower on the high court."
- The biggest unanswered question may be Sotomayor's views on a woman's right to choose. Many abortion rights advocates nervously note that she has not really clarified her judicial position on Roe v. Wade, and in her only ruling pertaining to abortion rights, she did not come down the way those advocates would have liked.
- E.J. Dionne looks back at Obama's vote against the confirmation Chief Justice John Roberts, and sees Sotomayor as "Obama's anti-Roberts."
- A WSJ article looks at Sotomayor as a reflection of the rising political power of Hispanics. Simon is quoted:
Given the demonization of Latino immigrants in the past, it is going to be much harder to oppose her on anything but deeply justifiable grounds. The opportunity to come across as once again being deeply unfair to Hispanics is going to be looming large over this process.
Politics
- The LA Times reports that the FBI and Justice Department will be vastly expanding their role in global counter-terror operations, reversing the trend of ever more clandestine operations run by the CIA, and seems to be a move toward transparency around investigations.
- Joe Sestak is likely to challenge Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary.
- President Obama spoke in Nevada yesterday, touting his clean energy plans, and visiting the largest solar power plant in the western hemisphere.
- Illinois Senator Roland Burris may have offered to pay "Crooked Rod" Blagojevich for his senate seat, but he definitely was never going to actually give him any money. Definitely.
Economy
- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown put out his second big op-ed in as many days, this time calling in the Wall Street Journal for a continued commitment to global trade.
- The Boston Globe writes that business leaders are warming up to Democrats. Simon is quoted:
The core conservative argument that government is the problem no longer holds... The ideological argument for the Republican Party for the last generation is spent. They're going to have to come up with a new argument.
International
- The US continues to push for tighter sanctions on North Korea in the wake of their second nuclear test earlier this week. Russia and China, often laggards, appear to be on board.
- A roadside bomb in Baghdad killed an American soldier and four others. Twenty Americans have been killed this month in Iraq, the most since last September.
- A large earthquake occurred just off the coast of Honduras yesterday, prompting the National Weather Service to place Belize and Guatemala under "Tsunami Watch" for a few hours. They lifted the Tsunami Watch, which seems just as well, because it's hard to imagine how watching a tsunami would do much good
New From NDN
- Simon wrote this morning on what Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court means for the prospects of immigration reform. If anything, he thinks, it will help.
- Michael Moynihan is reconciled to the inevitability of a GM bankruptcy, and notes a rising trend of Russian investment in American companies like this one.
One More Thing
- Newt Gingrich called Sonia Sotomayor a racist and called for her resignation. But wait, he didn't say it, he tweeted it! Does that make it better or worse?
- The NY Times has a must-read on the massive proliferation of hugging among American teenagers. Disturbing? Perhaps. But better hugging than heroin.
- Last, Politico puts together a mash-up of Robert Gibbs giggling. Now that's what I call journalism!: