Sotomayor impresses in interviews, senators say (AP)

[jefferson_dem]

Sotomayor impresses in interviews, senators say



WASHINGTON – Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has bonded with female senators about her childhood love of Nancy Drew mysteries and shared war stories with the Senate's former prosecutors about her days in the gritty Manhattan district attorney's office.

Slogging through dozens of personal, one-on-one meetings with senators that amount to a high-stakes job interview, she has impressed her questioners with an engaging personality and life story — even those lawmakers with big reservations about her views on the law.

It's all part of a delicate sales pitch. Senators sometimes are moved as much by the telling personal detail or common hobby as they are by a sterling resume and sharp legal mind.

Sotomayor noticed a bicycle figurine on a shelf in the office of Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and chatted about her love of cycling. She spoke in Spanish to Cuban-born Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla. She talked about losing her father at an early age with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., whose dad also died when he was young. She gossiped with Democratic senators who support her about how to handle potential critics and the trickier personalities on Capitol Hill.

"I told her the most important thing is to be yourself because she's such a powerful presence and such a powerful person," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., her unofficial adviser during the confirmation process. "When you meet her person to person, sitting across a table a couple of inches apart, her personality — you know, it's shining, it's strong, comes through."

The "courtesy calls" are, by tradition, an opportunity for nominees to introduce themselves to senators in a private setting, all while showcasing their qualifications, stroking egos and avoiding getting pinned down on any legal issue that could come back and haunt them in public hearings.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090613/ap_on_go_su_co/us_sotomayor_s_job_interview

[ananda]

1. I used to love Nancy Drew too!

;-))

[ellie]

2. Of course

she is impressive. Look what she has accomplished! Did they think she was going to break into a Charo imitation? And I still love Nancy Drew. When I grow up I want to be Nancy Drew.