Column: NCAI shawl at Sotomayor announcement

Law | Politics

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

"Sonia Sotomayor may or may not be confirmed as the next Supreme Court justice, but she's definitely in the ballpark.

"Born in the South Bronx, she was raised in a housing project not far from Yankee Stadium, making her a lifelong Yankees fan," President Obama said yesterday in announcing his nominee to the high court. "I hope this will not disqualify her in the eyes of the New Englanders in the Senate."

Over Obama's left shoulder, the nominee grinned. Over his right shoulder, Vice President Biden shrugged, perhaps thinking about Red Sox fan Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But this was only part of Obama's, er, pitch.

The fans in the White House were rowdy before the announcement. Ricki Seidman, who is advising the White House on the nomination, was circulating among the guests when she tripped over the podium and crashed noisily to the ground in front of the television cameras. After a few tense moments, she rose, embarrassed but uninjured.

When the nominee had her turn at the microphone, the invitees -- among them Al Sharpton, labor boss John Sweeney, Kagan, Attorney General Eric Holder, liberal activist Nan Aron and a woman wearing a shawl that said "National Congress of American Indians" -- stood to applaud. For many of those in the crowd who spent the past eight years in the field defending against Bush's nominees, it was time to get in their licks. They greeted the president and his nominee with ballpark-style cheers, thumbs up and chants of "woo-hoo." They took photos with pocket cameras and iPhones. "Well, I'm excited, too," Obama told them."

Get the Story:
Washington Sketch by Dana Milbank: But Will She Suit Up With the Washington Nine? (The Washington Post 5/27)

Also Today:
First Latina Picked for Supreme Court; GOP Faces Delicate Task in Opposition (The Washington Post 5/27)
Disparate Group United in Pride (The Washington Post 5/27)
Obama Hails Judge as ‘Inspiring’ (The New York Times 5/27)
Sotomayor’s Rulings Are Exhaustive but Often Narrow (The New York Times 5/27)