Obama Adviser Jarrett Praises Supreme Court Nominee Sotomayor, Responds To Critics

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 17 Jun 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett in a speech on Monday at the National Partnership for Women & Families' annual luncheon touted Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor's credentials and responded to critics who have attacked the judge's qualifications and past statements, the Washington Post's "44" reports. Jarrett noted that Sotomayor has more federal experience than any other Supreme Court justice in 100 years. "You can imagine our surprise when people started saying maybe she wasn't qualified," Jarrett said. She continued that Sotomayor also has an "incredible, rich personal story" that represents the "American Dream." When Sotomayor "talk[ed] about how important that upbringing was, what that will help her bring to the bench -- just as I might add Justice Alito did during his confirmation -- suddenly her background comes into question," Jarrett said, adding that this is a "double standard." Critics have attacked Sotomayor's comment during a speech at the University of California-Berkeley that she 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." Alito during his confirmation hearing said, "When I get a case about discrimination, I have to think about people in my own family who suffered discrimination because of their ethnic background or because of religion or because of gender. And I do take that into account."

Jarrett said of Sotomayor, "I can tell you we really don't have anything to worry about." She added that Sotomayor "will be far more prepared than anybody else, which is often the case with women. She will make us all proud" (Brown/Leiby, "44," Washington Post, 6/15).

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