(Newser)
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After listening to senators air their issues for most of the day, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor finally got the microphone at the end of her confirmation hearing today, telling senators she would serve the “larger interest of impartial justice," the AP reports. Sotomayor also took an apparent swipe at GOP critics who had questioned her impartiality. “My personal and professional experiences help me listen and understand,” she said, “with the law always commanding the result in every case.”
Though Republican and Democratic senators sparred over Sotomayor’s qualifications, her confirmation appears certain. "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed,” GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham said as the judge cracked a smile. Sotomayor concluded her opening statement on a note of hope, the New York Times reports: It is the Constitution that makes the dreams that fuel Americans possible, she said, "and I now seek the honor of upholding the Constitution as a Justice.”
