Originally Posted by
igitur55
I think that is a fair statement. However, the word "discriminatory" may be a little strong. How about, the president simply WANTED to nominate a woman from the get-go? I don't know if you can call it discriminatory, because it is not a "best person for the job" type of search. Presidents always fill the federal courts with people who will tend to decide things the way that their own constituency(-ies) want/like. It doesn't always work, of course (see Souter, David). There is also tremendous political hay to be made from the narrative of the "first, Hispanic woman on the Court," as you are seeing play out in the press now. This is politics, and Obama is showing himself to be very adept at it.