The White House on Sotomayor and Abortion

[snowdays]

I guess Pres Obama has ESP.



http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/the-white-house-on-sotomayor-and-abortion/?hp

May 28, 2009, 10:39 pm
The White House on Sotomayor and Abortion


By Kate Phillips

In the last few days since President Obama announced his decision to nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, has been asked repeatedly by reporters about Judge Sotomayor’s views on abortion.



.............At the White House briefing, reporters repeatedly returned to the subject, reminding Mr. Gibbs of the president’s assertions during the election campaign that he would not choose someone for the Supreme Court who wasn’t in sync with Roe. Jake Tapper of ABC pulled out the quote: During a Democratic primary debate on Nov. 15, 2007, Mr. Obama, then a senator, said, “I would not appoint somebody who doesn’t believe in the right to privacy.”

The questions then abounded for Mr. Gibbs, who would not reveal whether the issue came up, or was ever discussed, in Mr. Obama’s interview with Judge Sotomayor before he chose her as his nominee. Mr. Gibbs kept saying that the president never asked her the direct question, but asserted that Mr. Obama was “comfortable” with where she stood in a general way.

Let’s go to the transcript, to underscore the tortured path this question-and-answer session took. It began this way, with Jennifer Loven of The Associated Press, asking:

Q: I wanted to ask you about the concern among several — many people in the abortion rights community about Judge Sotomayor, and I’m wondering if you can respond to that and talk about — I know you said there was no litmus test and no demand of an answer when the president interviewed her, but did he talk with her at all about her views on the constitutional right to privacy, sort of talk around the issue at all with her?

Mr. Gibbs: Well, obviously — and we talked about this throughout the process — the president obviously is familiar with the Constitution and the teaching of constitutional law. In their discussions they talked about the theory of constitutional interpretation, generally including her views on unenumerated rights and the Constitution and the theory of settled law.........................

[Uzybone]

1. I like some of the comments on the blog

the ones that highlight how foolish the people are who keep bringing this up.