Barack Obama, president of the United States, as well as Hispanic organisations, applauded the vote of the Senate to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the US Supreme Court. Sotomayor will be the third woman and first Hispanic on the highest court of the nation after she is sworn in this Saturday. President Obama expressed his happiness with the 68-31 vote of the Senate that confirmed Sotomayor. He also expressed his admiration for her independence, integrity, temperament, and intellect. “They are ideals she has fought for throughout her career and the ideals the Senate has upheld today in breaking yet another barrier and moving us yet another step closer to a more perfect union,” said Obama. Sotomayor, 55, is a federal judge who was born to Puerto Rican parents in New York City. Much of Sotomayor’s childhood was spent in public housing.
Marie Watteau, spokesperson of the National Council of La Raza, an organisation for civil rights of Hispanics, said that the confirmation of Sotomayor is a great step for the Hispanic community in the US as well the whole nation. “It finally shows that we are being represented, we are at the table,” said Watteau. “We came out and voted in record numbers in November and now we have a Supreme Court justice. So it really is showing the strength of our community in this country.” A number of Republican senators did not agree with Obama’s statement during the time he nominated the judge. Obama said that one of Sotomayor’s qualities that will make her perform better is her empathy. Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate, said that empathy could possibly lead Sotomayor to make unfair rulings. “Empathy is a fine quality,” said McConnell. “But in a courtroom, it is only good if the judge has it for you.”
