First take on Sotomayor: Brilliant politics

President Barack Obama will articulate strong reasons today for naming Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Conservatives will rally to push back hard. Here’s a first salvo, in the New York Times:

“Judge Sotomayor is a liberal judicial activist of the first order who thinks her own personal political agenda is more important than the law as written,” said Wendy E. Long, counsel to the Judicial Confirmation Network. “She thinks that judges should dictate policy, and that one’s sex, race, and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders from the bench.”

What’s certain is that Mr. Obama has used the power of his office to regain control of the discussion, shifting away from national security and terrorism questions toward the Supreme Court.

Also, he’s placed Republicans in a dangerous spot:

Do they fight tooth-and-nail against a nominee that they oppose ideologically, even if it means further infuriating Hispanics?

Or do they concede the ground to the first Hispanic Justice in U.S. history, thereby enraging their conservative-traditionalist base?

One final thought:

Sotomayor’s nomination will further clarify the political trajectory of the Hispanic community, which is increasingly Democratic but also conservative on social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.

Do Hispanic leaders whole-heartedly embrace this judge, despite her left-of-center positions?

Or do they push for someone more in line with the community’s core Roman Catholic identity?