A small, real moment from this morning: At the end of one of the breaks, Sonia Sotomayor moved into the witness chair. She looked around, smiled, and generally had that air of someone who knows the camera is on her and doesn’t quite know what to do with her hands. She saw a man walk by, seemingly someone she knew, and turned and smiled more widely at him. She looked as if she was dying to stand up and say hello. Maybe get a reassuring hug. But he kept going, and her smile froze in place.
Oh, the many small awkward indignities of being in the hot seat. May the gates of empathy open for her.
Dahlia, your framing is right. What I’m most curious about is whether she addresses the “wise Latina” words straight up in her introduction, or waits to play defense when the senators ask her about it.
—Emily
