Conservatives Cautious on Criticizing Sotomayor, Liberals Taunt, 'I Dare Ya!'

Our daily look at stories and topics that are lighting up the Internets:

The Soto-Storm

"Okay, we're all interested in President Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor," writes Chris Rovzar in this nice roundup. "But today it's just getting to feel like too much. Not because democracy in action is ever boring, but because the media has lost its head." That being said, bloggers have had a day to think the Sotomayor appointment over, and the battle lines are forming. As per yesterday, let's look at reactions from both sides of the political spectrum. First up: conservatives. Damon Root is concerned: "On the hot-button issues of affirmative action and Second Amendment rights, her record suggests a decidedly illiberal vision of constitutional law." Alex Knepper writes that "Sotomayor's nomination is a unique opportunity for the conservative movement to rally all of its factions together," but calling her a racist for saying the following is not the way to go: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman, with the richness of her experiences, would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life." Conservative Ed Morrissey thinks the GOP can win by using the competence argument. And Philip Klein sums up conservative outrage: "The Obama/Sotomayor idea that judges, instead of making impartial rulings based on the law and the Constitution, should base their decisions (at least in part) on their own experiences and ethnic background, is outrageous."

The Liberal Reaction

Most liberals write today less on Sotomayor than on the Republicans' strategy for attacking her. What's a blogpost, after all, if it isn't about "the opposition"? Jay Newton-Small thinks the GOP's plan is to "walk softly and carry a huge magnifying glass." Greg Sargent writes that the reaction from the right is already helping liberals. Democrats, he predicts, will respond by arguing that GOP opposition to Sotomayor "is all about Republican extremism" and not her competence as a judge. David Kurtz concurs: "So far the criticisms of Sonia Sotomayor are much more revealing about her conservative critics than they are about her." In an odd twist, one liberal blogger focuses on the dry subject of what Sotomayor actually thinks. Robert Reich thinks GOP attacks on Sotomayor will end up decimating what's left of the Republican Party: "It's also possible that without much remaining of any moderate view inside their own ranks, Republicans may simply lack the wisdom—dare I call it judiciousness?—to opt for a more sensible strategy."

The Rest of Today's News

Thomas E. Ricks notes that North Korea's acting unusually reckless. Here's a great summary of the NoKo situation that Ricks points his readers to. Looks like John McCain's had a feeling NoKo was up to no good. Liberal Rob Thomas has a big gay chip on his shoulder because of the latest setback to gay marriage in California. The Washington Post's E.J. Dionne pens this piece for The New Republic, in which he looks at how the Obama administration goes about manipulating the media: "The disturbing aspect of Obama's effort to create his new political alignment is that building it requires him to send rather different messages to its component parts. Playing to several audiences at once can lead to awkward moments." And Karen Tumulty singles out one healthcare story that you should read today.

... Meanwhile ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin writes his first magazine column on pink slips... Alas, the F-bomb likely has no home in the workplace... And are you wondering if the recession's over? Check your underpants.

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