By the way, shortly after Justice Souter announced his intention to retire, C-SPAN broadcast back-to-back speeches or recorded events featuring each of those people thought to be candidates to replace him. I watched each with interest, not knowing or having heard about any of them previously.

Judge Sotomayor was video'd serving as one of three justices ruling in an appeals court setting for a George Washington University law school moot court. The other two justices were also experienced federal appeals court judges. The other candidates were featured making speeches on one subject or another.

After watching all four of the prospective candidates featured, I came away impressed that Judge Sotomayor was clearly the best of the bunch. Her conduct from the bench exhibited deep knowledge of both statutory and case law, but most importantly her "judgelike" demeanor was impressive.

Now after reading more about her, I've concluded that her confirmation hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee probably will be TV programming not to be missed. My guess is that she will be aggressive in responding to questioning, particularly from those exhibiting partisan intent. Said in words we all understand, her friends and colleagues have said that she won't take any cr*p from any of the Senators. It's almost certain that none of the Senators doing the questioning will possess her intellectual capacity, and certainly not her legal experience. Her peers and colleagues say that she is not one to either accept unwarranted criticism or suffer fools quietly or politely. She will not be testifying with "hat in hand" so to speak, simply trying to get the confirmation of her nomination. It ought to be fun to watch.