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President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden applaud Obama's nominee for Supreme Court Justice, Federal Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, in the East Room of the White House this morning. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

 

Lee Hill, here ...

Sonia Sotomayor, in case you haven't heard, has been tapped by President Obama to serve on the Supreme Court. Sotomayor's nomination comes after news last month by Justice David Souter that he would retire. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor, 54, would become the first Hispanic and the only the third woman to hold a seat in the high court.

Of course the announcement is still fresh, but I'm curious to know, what are your initial impressions -- of today's announcement, of Sotomayor? And how "weighty" is this nomination, culturally and politically speaking?

Will it really make that much of a difference, if Sotomayor is confirmed, to have both another woman and another ethnic minority representative on the high court? Also, might such a strong focus on her distinctions this early-on lead to unfair expectations?

In other words, is Ms. Sotomayor, oh, so carefully, being setup to be a contestant in the infamous is he/she _______ (black, Latino, man, woman, closed- , open-minded) enough? debate?

Tomorrow, we're tackling this sphere of thought head-on. Don't miss it.

In the meantime, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts.

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categories: More on Politics & Policy

4:16 - May 26, 2009

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