Today, Barack Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court. (Link to story here.) If appointed, she will have life tenure, no matter how she rules. She could be the liberal dream that Obama wants, or she could turn her back on his principles, as Earl Warren did to Dwight Eisenhower's.At this point, I don't have much hope of that. I'm virtually certain that the liberal vetting process on Sotomayor has been more thorough than Gerald Ford's was with John Paul Stevens or Ronald Reagan's with Anthony Kennedy or George H.W. Bush with David Souter.
But, miracles do happen, so it wouldn't hurt to say a prayer or two. (Does it ever?)
If Sotomayor was replacing a conservative Justice, this would be worse. But replacing Souter with another liberal is likely to make no major immediate difference. It is only a lost opportunity to change the high court's dynamic.
At this point, I know very little about Sotomayor. The fact that Obama appointed her is ominous enough. (Sort of like his presence looming behind her in the photo here.) As the confirmation process proceeds, more detail will become known. Look for more analysis here, as the mood strikes me.
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