Spurring a Sotomayor Backlash

Jeffrey Rosen’s New Republic article, "The Case Against Sotomayor," has provided a full clip of ammunition for Republicans eager to challenge Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court. The article, published three weeks ago, raised questions about Sotomayor's temperament and intelligence—two lines of attack already repeated ad nauseam. Today, Rosen is backtracking, saying the headline of his article might have been too strongly worded. Rosen says was merely raising questions that Obama should consider, given that the ability to build a coalition on the Supreme Court is one of the fundamental aspects of winning a decision. Nevertheless, critics have called into question Rosen's use of anonymous sources who panned Sotomayor, and also the journalist's rush to judge without being fully informed. Rosen stands firm on both issues and said today her experience may given her the humility needed to participate in dialogue with the court.