Sonia Sotomayor

It's official. President Obama is a pragmatist. Thank god!

First, Ms. Sotomayor is female and Hispanic. The Court is not well represented in these areas. Even a jury has to be made up of ones peers. Call it Affirmative Action or call it pandering, Obama knows what he's doing.

Second, Judge Sotomayor is a moderate. I think many hard line liberals expected Obama's first nominee to the Supreme Court to be more of an activist in the areas of abortion and gay rights. Let me say it is unclear how Ms. Sotomayor would rule in these areas, but her other rulings have tended to the strict adherence to judicial precedent. In other words, privacy rights are safe and gay rights are still in question.

Third, Obama's pick will make Republicans eat crow (just like David Souter did for Dems). Based on the Judge's overarching judicial philosophy, she will probably come down on the side of moderates and conservatives just as often if not more so than the liberals. In other words, Obama's pick will move the Court to the "Right."

Lastly, Ms. Sotomayor is helping to bring out the far right's fear of women and Hispanics. Watching Tom Tancredo, Rush Limbaugh, and Pat Buchanan squirm at the thought of a bilingual Justice on the Supreme Court made my week.