Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's views on abortion are facing scrutiny. ABC World News opened by saying abortion "has been a central issue in Supreme Court nominations -- maybe the central issue -- since Ronald Reagan selected Sandra Day O'Connor in 1981." This time, "both sides in the contentious debate want to know more. ... In her 11 years as a federal appeals court judge, Sotomayor has never ruled directly on abortion rights." NBC Nightly News reported the White House said President Obama "is very comfortable" that Sotomayor "shares his interpretation of the Constitution, but spokesman Robert Gibbs says the President did not specifically ask her about the right to privacy." The AP reports, "Abortion-rights groups are withholding their support until she answers questions on the court's 1973 legalization decision and the principles behind it." Nancy Northrup of the Center for Reproductive Rights said on CNN's No Bias, No Bull, "It's important for any nominee to the Supreme Court to share with the American public, to share with the Senate, what's their view?"
The Washington Post reports the White House "scrambled" to "assuage worries" about Sotomayor's "scant record on abortion rights." Meanwhile, the Washington Times reports "prominent pro-life Catholic" William Donohue "says he will be quietly rooting" for Sotomayor to be confirmed, and said she "may even be an improvement" over retiring Justice David Souter.
Some Democrats Want White House To Say Sotomayor Misspoke In 2001 Speech The Politico reports some Democrats "are urging the White House to shift course and concede" that Sotomayor "made an error when she suggested in 2001 that Hispanic women would make better judges than white men." Clinton White House attorney Lanny Davis said, "Every day that goes by that they don't say she misspoke and she used the wrong words...they just feed it and give it life." Democratic strategist Chris Lehane said, "Six or seven or eight weeks is a long time to go without addressing an issue that can potentially take on a life of its own and evolve and grow."
USA Today reports Senate Judiciary Committee ranking Republican Jeff Sessions "said Sotomayor needs to explain what she meant" in the 2001 speech. But Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat Charles Schumer said on NPR's All Things Considered, "Rule of law has to come first, obviously. No matter what your personal background, if you're a judge, your job is to apply the rule of law. On 17 years on the bench, Judge Sotomayor has shown that she puts rule of law first."
Sotomayor's Temperament Could Be An Issue The New York Times reports Sotomayor "has a blunt and even testy side." Her "demeanor on the bench is an issue that conservatives opposed to her nomination see as a potential vulnerability -- and one that Mr. Obama carefully considered before selecting her." The Washington Times notes that "lawyers who have argued cases before Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor call her 'nasty,' 'angry' and a 'terror on the bench.'"
Reports on President Obama's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas focus on Obama's reiteration of his demand that Israel halt all settlement expansion, and tend to cast the Netanyahu government as rebuffing him. ABC World News reported Obama "said Israel must meet its obligation to stop settlement activity on the West Bank, a position Israel resists. The President also said he's confident that Israel would accept a two-state solution, as necessary to its security interest." NBC Nightly News, meanwhile, noted that Obama "said Israel must stop expanding West Bank settlements, and the Palestinians must rein in anti-Israel violence."
The AP said that the Israelis "rejected" Obama's "demand." One day before, in a "blunt US request" phrased in "strong language, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had said...that Obama wants a halt to all settlement construction, including 'natural growth.'" The Wall Street Journal refers to "the Obama administration's strongest demands" yet, with Obama stressing that "Israel's obligations toward peace include 'stopping settlements' and supporting a Palestinian state." The Washington Post says Obama "continued to press his administration's tough stance" on settlements.
AFP reports Obama "renewed pressure on Israel," and "vowed an 'aggressive' mediation effort, ahead of his visit to Saudi Arabia and Egypt next week, while Abbas pledged to live up to all previous peace agreements and warned 'time is of the essence' for a two-state solution." Another AP story says the "deepening" of Israel's "dispute with the Obama administration...has the hard-line Israeli government increasingly on edge," and adds "the tensions flared on the same day...Abbas was in Washington."
The New York Times similarly reports that Obama's remarks yesterday "echoed -- albeit less bluntly," Clinton's own "brusque" comments, which "took Israeli officials by surprise." The Los Angeles Times remarks on the "sharply opposing positions over the explosive issue of Jewish settlements" staked out by Obama and Israeli officials, and adds that it had the effect of "propelling a rare dispute between the two longtime allies into full public view just days before the president is scheduled to deliver an address in Egypt to the world's Muslims."
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The AP reports the Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court "to halt the release of disturbing images of detainee abuse, saying the photos could incite violence in Pakistan as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan." The court filings "cite two partially secret statements" from Gens. David Petraeus and Ray Odierno. The Politico says Petraeus wrote that the pictures could "further endanger the lives of US soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors, civilians and contractors presently serving" in Iraq, and Odierno argued, "The publicity over the images could incite additional attacks on US personnel by members of the Iraq Security Forces." Meanwhile, AFP reports the Defense Department "strongly rejected" a report in London's Daily Telegraph "that alleged photographs of abuse at Iraqi prisons include images of rape and sexual assault."
ABC World News reported a General Motors declaration of bankruptcy "will almost certainly happen Monday." While bondholders "have been refusing an offer to trade billions in debt for 10 percent of the company," GM has now "improved the offer, giving them the opportunity to buy, at bargain rates, another 15 percent of the company." The Detroit Free Press refers to "a sweetened deal to shed billions in debt." The Washington Post reports that "an informal group of GM bondholders, who hold about 20 percent of the automaker's $27 billion of bonds, has indicated it would support the deal. The others have until Saturday at 5 p.m. to show their support." The New York Times says that bondholders are "the most important group that the company has yet to win over for its efforts to start fresh."
The Wall Street Journal reports the bankruptcy filing would begin "an unprecedented experiment in U.S. industrial policy in which the government, from the White House to Congress, will seek to remake an icon of American business while not appearing to bore too deeply into its day-to-day operations." Obama Administration officials said "it could be six to 18 months before GM becomes a publicly traded company again." NBC Nightly News said that the deal "should clear the path for General Motors to have a quicker, smoother bankruptcy, and the reason that's important is because the less time General Motors spends in bankruptcy, the... fewer questions that are raised with consumers as they drive by dealerships. They will have more confidence if GM gets out of bankruptcy sooner, and that's what they're hoping at the Treasury Department." The CBS Evening News similarly reported that "having an agreement in place before bankruptcy means less chance the court will impose even more painful concessions down the road."
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The Politico reported endangered Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) is going on the air with his first TV spot, which "touts his work cracking down on credit card abuse" and "prominently features President Obama." The spot shows Obama saying, "I want to give a special shout out to Chris Dodd, who has been a relentless fighter to get this done."
Roll Call reports the National Republican Congressional Committee "is hoping to soften up seven House Democrats, including five freshmen, with a round of weeklong radio ads and a television commercial that criticize the Members for protecting" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "during her dust-up with the CIA earlier this month." Roll Call adds that Maryland freshman Rep. Frank Kratovil "was the unlucky Democrat to draw the" TV spot, "while radio ads are going up Friday in the districts of fellow freshman Reps. Suzanne Kosmas (Fla.), Glenn Nye (Va.), Tom Perriello (Va.) and Harry Teague (N.M.), as well as more veteran Democratic Reps. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.) and Vic Snyder (Ark.)." The Politico adds that the NRCC "also launch robocalls in the following districts: John Boccierri (OH-16); Bobby Bright (AL-02); John Hall (NY-19); Steny Hoyer (MD-05); Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ-01); Harry Mitchell (AZ-05); Walt Minnick (ID-01); Mark Schauer (MI-07); Steve Kagen (WI-08); and Larry Kissell (NC-08)."
The Washington Post reports that Ralph Nader yesterday alleged that Virginia gubernatorial hopeful Terry McAuliffe (D) "offered his campaign money to stay off the ballot in key states during the 2004 elections" when McAuliffe chaired the Democratic National Committee. The Post adds, "The allegation -- which McAuliffe has not disputed -- is the latest attempt to suggest that the candidate's lengthy career as a confidant to President Bill Clinton and top party fundraiser could now be a political liability." In a statement, McAuliffe spokeswoman Elisabeth Smith "said that McAuliffe 'was concerned that Ralph Nader would cost John Kerry the election as he did Al Gore in 2000 and give us another four years of George W. Bush.'"
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Jay Leno: "Hey, last night at a fundraiser in Beverly Hills, people paid $30,000 to attend a dinner and a discussion with President Barack Obama. ... The subject of the discussion? The struggling economy."
Jay Leno: "In fact, you know who was there? Kiefer Sutherland. I saw him down there. His job was to head-butt Joe Biden if he got near a microphone."
Jay Leno: "Actually, there was a performance by Earth, Wind & Fire, which ironically is also the Democratic energy policy -- earth, wind and fire."
Jimmy Fallon: "Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush will appear together in Toronto, on Friday, for a two-hour conversation, where George Bush plans on being the first person ever to lose a conversation."
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