MSNBC is reporting that SC nominee supreme court nominee will attempt to preempt questions on her 2001 speech where she referred to her background.
From NBC's Chuck Todd
Just now at the press briefing, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Judge Sonia Sotomayor used a "poor" choice of words in 2001, when she suggested a Latina would reach a better conclusion than a white male.
Asked how he knew she would say she chose her words poorly, Gibbs simply said that he's talked to people who have talked to her. He would not elaborate.
But clearly, we should expect Sotomayor to -- at some point -- say this herself, perhaps to members of the Senate next week and later at her confirmation hearing.
My brief commentary below.
Update [2009-5-29 17:8:28 by justmy2]: More from the AP:
The White House says Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor acknowledges she made a poor word choice in a 2001 speech in which she said that a Latina judge would often reach a better conclusion than a white male judge who hasn't lived the same life.
That's according to presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs. He says he has not talked directly to Sotomayor about it but has spoken to people who have.
I am changing the title to use the word "acknowledge" until we know more.
I guess the WH has decided to throw conservatives a bone....
BRILLIANT STRATEGY or EPIC FAIL?
Talk about throwing blood in the water while the sharks are gathering...or was that the point in another version of Presidential juijitsu.
Was this issued just when Republicans start backing off to make sure race stays in the news cycle.
Well it is a Friday news dump, and my gut says why give any ground. All it does is incentivize opponents to find the next thing to throw a hissy fit about.
Did Alito ever apologize for being part of CAP? Or did his wife throw a televised hissy fit?
Who knows? It won't matter in the long run, but why apologize for something that was actually valid?
The floor is open for comments.
Update [2009-5-29 17:8:28 by justmy2]: The President has now spoken on this. Rough Transcript from beginning of Hardball:
I am sure she would have restated it, but if you look at the sweep of the entire essay she wrote, what's clear is that she was simply saying her life experiences will give her information about the struggles and hardships that people are going through that will make her a better judge.
MSNBC referring to this now as a concession and has stated that this was the most problematic part of her nomination.
HUH? I don't get that. This is just MSNBC, but remember the media seems to make up their own PoV on stories sometimes. I guess we will see how this develops.
Update [2009-5-29 17:8:28 by justmy2]: There is a lot of commentary on the use of the word apology in my original title and in the poll below. I changed the title to be clearer but I can't change the poll. However, I wonder why people think it matters. If it was a "poor choice" of words, why wouldn't she apologize? It seems odd that those defending the walkback seem to be offended by the word apology. I won't comment other than to say that seems strange to me.
In any event, commentators are now declaring this a victory for conservatives. Hope it works...