The Sotomayor hearings

I was fascinated by many of the opening comments delivered today in the U.S. Senate hearings for the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. It seemed that one could quickly discern the tacts that many senators will take in their questioning and examination of the candidate for associate justice of the court — and indeed what their vote will ultimately be.

Much has already been made, both by members of the judicial committee and the broader media, of the "Wise Latina" comment by Judge Sotomayor ... I resonate with a commentary written by my friend Paul Raushenbush, who is associate dean of religious life at Princeton University and a regular online columnist for Beliefnet. I was also pointed by an FOR friend to a great piece on the topic by political commentator Keli Goff, "How Judge Sotomayor's Second Language Does Make Her More Qualified Than the Average White Guy (And I'm Not Talking About Spanish)." Strong stuff.

There is a lot of conversation about double-standards from one perspective or another with respect to this nomination and the judge's views of the law. What do you think?