Good for Senator Kyl - questioning Sotomayor

Duane, Hugh Hewitt's producer, characterized this as "Sotomayor didn't just back away from her previous comments, she ran!" And she clearly moved away from President 0.

Arizona Republic: Kyl forgoes pleasantries, presses Sotomayor:
Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, responding to a pointed question from Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl, rejected President Barack Obama's assertion that judges must rule based partly on what's in their hearts.

"I wouldn't approach the issue of judging in the way the president does," Sotomayor told Kyl during a grueling daylong confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Judges can't rely on what's in their heart," Sotomayor said. "The job of a judge is to apply the law. And so it's not the heart that compels conclusions in cases. It's the law."

It was the first time that Sotomayor publicly distanced herself from the president. And it was the one time when her answer seemed to satisfy Kyl, who went after Sotomayor as if he were a trial attorney questioning a witness.

Kyl, a conservative and the Senate's No. 2 Republican leader, was one of the most aggressive interrogators of the day.

The senator, who practiced law in Phoenix before his election to Congress, skipped the usual pleasantries to start in with his questions. ...

The senator pressed Sotomayor politely but relentlessly to explain a controversial speech in which she said she hoped "a wise Latina" judge would generally reach better conclusions than a white male.

By the time he was done, Sotomayor said her words were "a bad idea" and that her intent with the speech was to inspire young Latino students and emphasize the importance of diversity in the judiciary.