I'm Against Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor has a set of views that could not offend or even interest anybody. Or Sonia Sotomayor has had the intensive standard course of media training. Or Sonia Sotomayor has been skillfully medicated.

Why oh why do we persist in having these hearings? Or why do we persist in believing—or hoping against hope—that these hearings will be revelatory (or at least great theater and politics)?

“Still, for all of the buildup, the second day of her confirmation hearings produced few of the anticipated fireworks…” says the Times.

Exactly who anticipated fireworks?

This hypothetical anticipation comes partly because the conservatives have, with little credibility or even seriousness, made the case that she is a Puerto Rican firecracker. Liberals have defended her on this charge in a way that suggests they hope she really is a wild card, rather than the tried-and-true bureaucrat that everything about her career suggests she actually is.

The closest we’ve gotten to the firecracker or wild card is the analysis of her hearty laugh (which, clearly, is practiced, too).

Michael Wolff