Another one bites the dust

I have not been able to watch the Senate confirmation hearing - working as I have been in the editorial coal mine - but I would have loved to have seen the exchange between Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor and Sen. Jeff Sessions, the creepy Republican from Alabama (by the way, only in America could a guy lead the charge against a minority woman candidate when his own nomination to the federal bench in 1986 was capsized due to a controversy over comments he made involving the Klu Klux Klan and NAACP.)

In his rat-like scurrying to sink Judge Sotomayor's chances, Sen. Sessions, the ranking Republican on the panel, cited Judge Miriam Cedarbaum as an exemplar of judicial behavior, unlike, well, you know who.

Apparently unbeknownst to Sessions, Judge Cedarbaum and Judge Sotomayor are pals and what's more she was in the court to lend support.

This from a Wall Street Journal blog: "My friend Judge Cedarbaum is here," Sotomayor riposted, to Sessions' apparent surprise. "We are good friends, and I believe that we both approach judging in the same way, which is looking at the facts of each individual case and applying the law to those facts."

The Journal account began with one word: "Ouch!" Ouch indeed and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Did anybody see this? Was it as good as it sounded?

 

Posted Jul 15 2009, 12:58 PM by Reg Henry
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Comments

John Lease wrote re: Another one bites the dust
on Wed, Jul 15 2009 1:24 PM

I did Reg.  The look on his face was priceless, to say the least.

www.youtube.com/watch

It happens around the 1:38 mark or so.  They cut away from his kid in the cookie jar look when she starts to reply.

little_minx wrote re: Another one bites the dust
on Wed, Jul 15 2009 3:44 PM

Reg, don't you think that most, if not all, of the Senators on the Judiciary Committee likely prepare their statements and questions in conjunction with one or more of their aides?  This prompts one to wonder who on Sessions' staff was responsible for spotting Judge Cedarbaum in the room and tipping Sessions off not to compare Sotomayor and Cedarbaum (if his comment was and/or his staffers are disgruntled enough to want to reel out enough rope for him to hang himself...

little_minx wrote re: Another one bites the dust
on Wed, Jul 15 2009 3:49 PM

Oops!  Left out a word.

(if his comment was planned...)

kevin morris wrote re: Another one bites the dust
on Wed, Jul 15 2009 5:18 PM

Thank you for the link, John. I loved how the judge could barely contain her laughter as the Senator droned on impugning her integrity.