young lady right here. this one. critical comments before the senate judiciary hearing all week so come tuesday the vote. do you think sonia sotomayor should be confirmed? would she make a good supreme court justice? we want you to weigh in along with experts, some law students and women proudly calling themselves wise latina women all joining us this hour breaking down sotomayor's words what she said and what she didn't say. and your blog and facebook comments as well. all that straight ahead, your phone calls, all part of this conversation. hello again, i'm fredricka whitfield, you're "cnn newsroom." so avery friedman is with us also to talk about judging sonia sotomayor s how did they do? what kind of reception did she receive there at the senate judiciary panel? avery friedman right here, right now. we have been talking about this

journey for quite some time now. finally the moment has come. here she was in the middle of hearings, how did she do? how did she hold up in your view? >> the fact she did a terrific job, primarily because she was prepared. if we heard one thing faced off with about 600 questions, it was i'm going to apply the law to the facts. so no matter -- >> broken record. >> no matter how dramatic it got, that was mantra, that's what we heard. >> but at the same time, there were some complaints coming from the senators saying, wait a minute, we want more. we weren't to hear more about your personal experience, how do you explain that? and is that impacting the court? did she handle those questions well? >> yeah, in other words, at least those senators who are really not too sure about her, wanted to know about empathy, wanted to find out whether or not she was going to be robotic. well, the fact is she kept

saying the same thing and fredericka, she never really answered the question. she stayed with the mantra. >> that was plan. that was her plan, but i remember, that there were other justices or other nominees, alito being one of them, who felt like they learned from the bork hearings that maybe this is the technique that you need to carry out. so she was very studied, wasn't she? >> you just nailed it. ever since robert bork back in the 1980s, every candidate, every nominee to the united states supreme court has done essentially a variation on the very theme that we saw there. and that is stick to the script, i will apply the law to the facts, we don't have the slightest idea what she's really going to be doing except as she said, look at my record. >> and they did. and she seemingly held her own. how important was this moment in your view in terms of setting the tone of potentially other supreme court nomination processes from taking place?

because it's been pretty good possibility, right, that this administration may have at least one more appointee if not two. >> john paul stevens is in his 80s, fredericka, we're likely to see one, if not two, maybe three changes during this administration. bottom line is we're going city a variation on this theme from this point on. and i think sonia sotomayor was the best example of it. we're not going to see a mau modification of the mantra, i'm going to apply the law to the facts. that's all we're going to hear. >> all right, so tuesday, come tuesday, the vote is to take place, run us through what we might expect. >> well, you know, again, we have the entire 100 senators who are going to take their shots. it's not going to be at all as controlled as the gnat judiciary but the truth is by the end of the debate and discussion we're probably looking at 80 to 90 senators who are going to

support this nomination. why? because she's prudential, she has a record. she's the only trial judge who frankly has been a nominee who will go to the supreme court that's going to be very difficult to suggest that we're going to see anything other than a confirmation. >> interesting. so avery, let's take a look at something right here. i want you to take a walk with me, if you could. help me understand what's going to happen to this panel. because as we see it now, with the current nine justices and we kind of decided to just ice late two of the most heated kind of issues that oftentimes kind of influence the court. gun control, five to four, abortion rights, five to four. soughter is on his way out, but even if you were leave the scenario, what would likely happen? >> nothing. >> nothing? >> what's going to happen is david souter, who was a moderate, who really bent to the left but not always will be

replaced by a moderate who sometimes leans to the left but not always. so what it gets to the end of the day, we're essentially seeing a replacement. the difference though is that sonia sotomayor will bring to the united states supreme court something that it's never seen before. and that is someone that grew up in the bronx, grew up in the projects, led a life unlike any of the 110 white males who have served on this bench. and want to know something? the supreme court now is looking a little bit more like america. and that's what's exciting. that's what we're going to see. >> we replace the picture now with sotomayor with souter. we have the question mark here. but in your view it's still a 5-4 generally on gun control or at least abortion rights, but that's a guess because she has no judicial record on either of these issues to make one believe she's an advocate or opponent of

eith either? >> well, sort, sort. she was part of a panel, fredericka, that ruled that the united states could enact a rule, the executive branch that would restrict funds going to federal facilities to provide abortions. and she upheld that rule. i don't think that really tells you anything, but the more important thing on gun rights, the other issue you mentioned was that she upheld the right of new york to bar certain kind of weapons. so the showdown that we're going to be looking at constitutionally is when that case gets to the supreme court and it will this term, what is she going to do? the answer is nobody has the slightest idea right now. >> all right, avery, you're going don joining us again throughout this hour. josh levs is also fielding a number of comments coming from people in so many different ways, also using phone service as well. now we've got voice messages from many of you as well as you're sending comments on facebook as well as the blog.

josh, are you with me? >> i'm here. there i am, see, i just showed up. how you doingy i think it's funny that phone is now the last thing after all the fancy new technology. but yes, foe, you have every way to reach us. a few things that are happening right now. first of all, you heard avery express support for her, many are sending in comments opposing sonia sotomayor. we'll get his response to that. even after this hour, we have a discussion online. go to this graphic. cnnsnoom room@cnn.com/fred. and we've got our facebook page there, also mine are going, too. facebook and twitter in both cases it's slash joshlevscnn. we'll get your responses as well. >> we're hearing the dial tone which means we're ready to take your calls. >> phones are working. >> appreciate that so what's not

to like about sonia sotomayor? well critics say a lot.

all right, should the senate confirm sonia sotomayor to the supreme court are? a cnn opinion research poll said 47% said yes. 4 40% said no. 13% of you weren't so sure. so why is it there's some trepidation about sonia sotomayor? we're being joined by charmaine

yost who testified against sotomayor's confirmation this week and also the president of americans united for life and soerchd mike huckabee's presidential campaign, quite an extensive resume. she's joining us right now. okay, the senators did certainly try to get her to commit on certain issues and she repeatedly said she would want to apply the law. do you suppose that strategy backfired to show why opponents are so critical of her? >> well, you know, first fredericka, thank you for having me. i disagree with avery pretty strenously, this is a judge who is going to be worse than judge souter. >> in what way? >> we were very disappointed to he was a consistent wrote to uphold roe v. wade but time after time he was also willing to uphold common sense bans on

partial birth abortions. >> can i stop you there. because initially some thought that souter might be because he was appointed by a republican president much more conservative but there was that surprise so potentially might if confirmed sonia sotomayor has some surprises? >> well, there's always that possibility, but i don't think so. when you look at her record in its totality, she was backtracking all week long off of a very clear record of a commitment judicial activism. the weis latina quote was just the tip of the iceberg, one of the quotes i gave in my testimony to the judiciary committee was that she felt like you need to appeal to your creative juices as you're coming before the bench. i mean creativity is the least thing you want from a judge when they are looking at the law. they're supposed to interpret the constitution as it's written. so when you take those kinds of comments that show her commitment to judicial activism and take it together with her record on the abortion issue

with the puerto rican legal defense fund, she served and on the board of directors there for over 12 year, we think it's clear she has a commitment to activism and an ideological bent towards pushing the abortion agenda. >> what were you hoping your testimony would do or reveal or potentially even cut down about sotomayor? >> well, earlier, i believe it was avery who said there wasn't much of a record that he has on the abortion issue. and what we were hope dog do with the senators is to let them know there really is a significant record. and i think one of the things we're very happy about is over the course of the week you did hear quite a bit of questioning about her service on the board of the puerto rican legal defense fund. it's really important because there were six cases that went forward to the supreme court that were very aggressively advocating unlimited abortion on demand as a fundamental right with no restrictions whatsoever. so we were very concerned that that get in the record and that

she be asked questions about that. >> is it abortion that you're most concerned about as it pertains to sonia sotomayor? >> well, americans united for life looks a at whole host of life issue, end of life, there's bioeth ins issue, there's a whole host of life issues. >> because she doesn't have a legal record, an opinion, a decision on anything as it pertains to anything as it pertains to abortion rights? >> she had a couple of cases she decided in which she upheld precedent. our concern is that as a lower cost judge, she's obligated to do that so we believe when you look at the totalitity of the record she is going to be more reliable than justice souter for undermining the kind of regulations and restrictions on abortions that americans want to pass at the state level. >> but do you feel like upholding precedent is enough in which to read the totality of a jurist? >> well, you know, that is a good question. it's important to understand for people who aren't steeped in the

supreme court and the layering of the courts and how they work and how court cases come up to the supreme court, the job of the supreme court are is to set precedent. so the fact that she upheld precedent on the second circuit court doesn't tell us what she'll do in the supreme court if she has the opportunity to implement the activism she's pretty clear she demonstrated she's committed to through her speeches. >> okay. charmaine yost, thank you for your time. appreciate that. >> thank you, fredericka. even if you don't prefer her judicial record, sotomayor on the hill was a proud moment for many. >> i believe sotomayor would be a great supreme justice and i want to see her elected. i'm excited over it, she's so qualified. that you for that i'm jean treat and i come from new jersey. i don't always let my bladder problems...

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tuesday. so we brought back avery friedman joining us from cleveland and josh levs also fie fielding these e-mails as well as comments on facebook and even a phone line going. so josh, what are people saying? >> we got it all. let's zoom into the board because i want to start off giving people some facts. i want tone courage you to go to cnn.com. at the very top of your screen click on sotomayor. it will help to inform your opinion. you'll see the key events in her career that led up to this and also a comparison between her and others. it's not as fancy as fred at the magic wall but talks you through some of her stances an also a this here, can we zoom in here. you've got some of her key decision, on the environment, finances, health, civil rights, copyright, abortion, baseball. it gives you some facts to work with. now let's zoom over to our discussion pages, which we have

going on the blog. avery, we said you were going to come back and we just does hear from a credit inc. tom wrote think, i think she's qualified, her story is compelling. however what came out of her mouth, she owns. the white male comment was an egregious error, but will be allowed because of her minority status. if something said something very, very very similar about a white male um coming to a better decision, they might not be considered for the supreme court. >> we hrd that from the senators on the judiciary committee. the best she could say, i think she was accurate. she came up with arhetorical flour issue that fell flat. that's exactly how she put t this was an inspirational, motivational effort to try to talk to the next generation of lawyers so they understood what they can aspire to. it's a big difference between how she's conducted herself as a judge. i think the error and we've seen some criticism earlier during this segment was that well, what

did she do before she was a judge? well, let me tell you something, chief roberts, alito, scalia, ginsberg all did different things and were advocates before they went to the bench. so it's really not fair to judge what they did as advocates and how they're going to serve as judges. >> avery, let me follow up on that with a post we got from don which is more interesting. it said her decisions are always will be suspect, people will always feel they've not gotten a fair deal any time race or gender can be alluded to her decisions. when you look at previous disputes over potential supreme court justices. did that end up happening that something that was introduced during the confirmation process later on cast a shadow over future decisions? >> well, yeah, look at clarence thomas, josh. we had a situation where everybody knew where he was coming from. he actually under oath he had no

p preconceived notion of choice and abortion, but that frankly was untrue. we have to take these nominee at face value under oath. and it's the duty of the senate and judiciary committee in particular to get to the truth, frankly, you know, we watched it four day, josh, i'm not sure are what the heck we got out of that. >> interesting. as a quick yes or no, are you concerned this might cast a shadow over her future decisions, yes or no? >> no. >> discussion goes on throughout the hour, here's how you can weigh in. let's show everybody the few ways we got going. cnn.com/newsroom and facebook and twitter in both faces joshlevscnn. we've gotten some criticism on the blog. so far what i'm getting is 95% pro-sotomayor. so we'll be getting to that, too. >> avery, do you feel like this was a different confirmation hearing than we've seen in most

recent modern day? >> nothing like this in american constitutional history, fredericka. absolutely, amazings. again, the first hispanic, the first minority hispanic before this judiciary committee and the senate, nothing like it. >> because there was a lot of caution, we did see that perhaps because -- >> they didn't want to beat her up. >> there were some senators who say if i do that i'm going to be called a lot of other name, too, because this is the first latina and it's a woman and there we go. >> you nailed it. you nailed it. >> interesting. avery friedman, thanks so much for joining us on this. and josh, we'll see you again. well, among those who are watching the hearings, law studen students. i caught up with a few who were very calculate, very observant and analytical about all they saw this week. >> so, katie kicked off the conference call dog starts barking. so jen jumped in with her "two cents"... which katy missed because she was buying shoes online. and then i hit mute... to talk timelines with my team.

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bombings in jakarta, indonesia, have found the ninth body, it's not clear if it's a seventh v k victim or a third bomber. there's no claim of responsibility but a splinter group linked to al qaeda is suspected. president obama said walter con cite was a guide america could trust through wars and by yots and marches and milestones. the anchor die yesterday at the age of 92. 220 miles from earth are astronauts are midway through a space walk, they're build iing addition that will be used for outside experiments. let's resume our focus on judging sonia sotomayor. a primary focus of the hearings, her comments about being a wise latina woman. i caught up with a former deputy white house chief of staff,

maria about what went wrong and what went right during these progression. >> this is a really proud moment for sonia sotomayor's mother. she was dabbing her eyes occasionally with tears and smiling. how proud of a moment or what did this moment make you feel like? >> i am very, very proud. it's knowing that our highest court may very soon have someone who looks like me. and lots of millions of hispanic as across the country, but more importantly, it's rollingly the story of struggle, that's the america story we love. >> it's the story of struggle meaning the odds were against her to graduate from high school, to go on to ivy league schools and to reach such levels. she comes with a greater amount of trial experience as a prosecutor than any of the other sitting justices, however it

seemed these hearings the primary focal point was that wise latina woman comment. in what way did you see that that shaped these hearings? >> it's unfortunate. but it definitely was the focus. i think there's so little, frankly, to argue about her qualifications, but we have a bipartisan process, right? and so they had to find something to attack her on. and that statement, the weis latina woman which she now regrets because it did offend people and was misundertow was a way in which some people, some of the senators were able to put the issue of race and raise the question that because she latina, will she be biassed on the court? i dare say we never ask that question of a white male. so it's unfortunate. >> did that disappoint you that she back ped ald on that

language, that while she used it in so many different forums an speaking engagements and seemed to stand behind it at that moment that even during the hearing she said she reregret using that language. was that the pressure she felt from those senator whose disputed that that language said that she was prejudicial or did she feel like she just needed to acquiesce to move on. >> well, i can't be in her mind but there's no question that this notion might be better at is really unacceptable in our country. it really is unacceptable. >> you like the argument being made that life experience is something enhances, that embell oishs your professional experience as well? >> absolutely. i well remember one time having to speak debate about a certain type of change in our labor laws an realizing that in that room, there are only two people that i knew one of them was me who had ever actually pumplged a time clock. that made a difference in how i viewed that issue. and i think that's all we're

asking. that's why we have nine justices because that group of experience hopefully will result in better decisions. >> in looking forward, if confirmed, how do you see sonia sotomayor influencing young women, young latinas? >> i think just by being there. i can't tell you how often people will say, knowing that someone like you worked in the white house or when they see that she is on the benk, they will know that anything is possible in this country, which is of course something that we are very extraordinarily proud of. and in which the american dream just will get a new boost. >> all right, maria, former deputy white house chief of staff. sorry about that discoloration on her, that was a problem on our end. also with a very analytical eye about the progression all week long. i caught up with a group of georgia law students who watched picked apart very closely.

was it fair play to focus on the definition of her personal experiences? her application of her life experiences and weigh that with her law experience? >> i think it is fair game. the republicans really didn't have anything to point out in her judicial record other than the ricci case which was a very closely decided case in the supreme court. so all they had to go on was a couple of speeches. >> i think that's all true, i think concern that some senators have had is that she's been on the court of appeals where she was bound by supreme court opinion. and that on the supreme court, she may or may not be more likely to allow her life experiences to influence her judicial decision making. simply because she has the opportunity to do so. >> it was disconcerting to hear

senator grachl and some of the other senators make it sound like the current justices on the supreme court have no personal experiences that they use or can think about when they write judicial decisions. it made it sound like alito, roberts, scalia, don't have personal experiences at all. they just go strictly by the law. which when you read these decisions you can tell they do use those personal experiences. >> of what you witnessed this week during the hearings, did it inspire you in your pursuit in the field of law? did it in any way maybe kind of stoke the fire of, hey, one day, i want to become a supreme court justice especially because of what i saw? >> i think that judge sotomayor's nomination is general is an inspirational story. where she came from, how hard she worked, the tremendous amount of achievement that she

was able to achieve, i mean that's american dream. >> we heard justice ginsberg say not too many months ago, it's that only being the only woman on the bench if. >> i think you see in cases, for example, that the strip church case, i can't remember the name of now, i think it was important even though you have justices applying broader legal concept, it was still a 13-year-old girl who was strip search and it was valuable to have someone who had been a 13-year-old girl on the bench when that decision was made. >> so why is it it that type of case, we're talking about life experience then. >> right. >> in other sense. why would that not be disputed yet to say why is latina woman? is that life experience, that did ruffle feathers? >> i think it was her comparison. her statement that a wise latina

woman would make a better decision than a white male. i think at least my perception is that is the statement that really ruffled the feathers. >> all right, some georgia law school students from emery as well as university of georgia. so, sonia sotomayor, one of many wise latina women, that's why rick sanchez went to miami to talk to them and find out whether she indeed an inspiration to them. in the meantime, we're also taking your calls. this is some of what you're saying. >> i have a day job, i'm a long haul druk driver, driving across oklahoma right now. i wanted to make a comment about so the so. i don't think she answered the questions fair enough to be able to sit on the supreme court. i think when they asked a question, i think she ought to answer the question and not dodge it. i listened to most of it on satellite radio and that's my opinion. thank you. %%%%%%%%%%%

we will return to our special gentleman minute. one woman is doing all she can to provide some relief. cnn special correspondent soledad o'brien reports. >> reporter: every night, tina and james work a second job, delivering newspapers. it's extra hours for extra pay. beyond his work in information technology and hers in benefits administration. and it's all to better provide for their two daughters.

but it leaves james and tina little time for sleep or for them ss. >> the schedule is just -- >> the schedule has been crazy. >> it shifts -- >> that's what our lives are. i may go to bed 8:00, 9:00 on a good night, i'm back up at midnight, even though he does most of the work monday through friday, i can't go back to sleep at 5:00, my clock goes off and i have to get ready for work. >> even though they work the night job together, they're emotionally apart, adding stress to a mayor already on the brink. you're working together and of you were 500 miles apart. >> because that's what it was. >> reporter: you had no emotional closeness. >> for me, that's what it was. >> reporter: james and tina have come to this woman for help. nisa mohammad knows personal lane and professionally the enormous consequences when couples stop talking and start thinking about calling it quits. >> you look at a couple like

james and tina barnes. what's their big issue? what's their big problem. >> i think their big problem is they've gone for so long down the wrong road it's now very hard for them to get back on the road together. >> reporter: nisa's wedded bliss foundation has been dedicated to saving blake marriages across the country since 2006. in that time, she said she's helped more than 1,500 couples in crisis and boasts a success rate of nearly 90%. remarkable when you consider marriages have been in freefall in the black community for decades. in 1963, more than 60% of black households were headed by married couples. tod today, it's less than half that a. why is it particularly important to focus on this in the black community? >> we have the lowest marriage rate, the highest out of wedlock

childbirth rates. it's like when one american has a cold, black america has pneumonia. >> reporter: it's an epidemic she's battling with marriage boot camp. she and teaching partner jameel mohammad host a course. >> a the lot of children never see any marriages. >> it's free and opening to any struggling couple. those considering marriage, those brand new to marriage. and those close to divorce like tina and james barnes. they've turned to n. nisa as their last resort. >> and this programming note, next wednesday on cnn, at 7:00 eastern the moment of truth, with steve harvey and tom joyner live from times square. then at 8:00, the premiere of "black in america" part 26789 that's followed by president obama's press conference and

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all right, if she's confirmed, judge sotomayor would be the first hispanic woman to serve on the supreme court, a source of pride to many latinas. especially nose in the legal profession. rick sanchez caught up with some ladies. >> we still have to give her an enormous amount of credit, to be a puerto rican from the bronx. >> living in the projects. >> we should automobile very proud of that. this is a phenomenal accomplishment she's reached because not everybody. >> it's a proud day in america. for everybody. >> everybody who is a working class person. >> i think what it really speaks to is the fact that if you strip away the accent, the fact that it's a bronx accent and not a midwestern, eastern european accent and there are many of them and a strip away the gender and replace her, the life experience with that of a man.

what you end up with is exactly the same american are dream, american life experience we were all taught to believe in since we were little kids. we can all sit here and say she's from the bronx and she's a latina and she made this comment. but you know what, strip all that away and she's a symbol of everything we believe in, white, black or brown. >> so after rick's trip to miami for that conversation, i sat down with him and there's more to say about it. >>er in convinced with the growing number of hispanic that you get somebody on the supreme court that has an understanding of what so many people in this country understand as well. the fact that it's a hispanic woman, to them in particular, makes it that much more important. they think, look, you've got to be a woman and in many cases a hispanic woman to understand

certain issues. here's the point they make, if you're a sell yes, don't you want one of the supreme court justices to have some military experience if your case goes before them? it's the same thing, if you're a woman or you're a hispanic, don't you want someone who has that perspective to sit on the supreme court so they can get you and any case that may come before them? >> some of the senators made an argument that intellectual empathy is different than personal empathy. if she had more intellectual empathy that would be less prech judicial in their view than the personal empathy. what do these ladies have to say about that? >> they are convinced you do need to bring your own set of values an empathy to the court. as a jurist, he's going to do that. they say. >> these are not women we picked you have up a the street. they are federal prosecutors. they say it's very important to have someone with a perspective

they can share do. they take issue, do they find it insulting that the question would even be asked to a proven legal mind about whether they would allow their personal views to stand in the way of the rule of law. >> they came away with the impression that many times many of these senators were going way too far in seem iingly lecturin this woman, who has really -- >> they found it insulting. >> absolutely. this woman had raised herself up from the boots strap. made it in the projects of the bronx, the projects, which means, she didn't -- >> tough cookie. >> she didn't have a father. they're lecturing her on things like, on things like discrimination. on things like how much money. there was a justice who asked her do you think you can survive on the salary of a justice? this woman grew up in the projects. >> i know what it is to have no salary.

>> she knows exactly. another woman quoting martin luther king, saying do you understand what martin luther king meant. it almost seems and to many of these women that's the point they're making like, do you know who you are talking to? maybe that is not necessarily fair. >> that was rick sanchez, our josh levs has also been hearing from many of you. your comment, pro and con for judge sotomayor. >> yeah and fred, earlier, this hour, i mention 1/3 avery were, had some criticism against her on the blog. i promised i would be with the many pro-sotomayor comments we had. this is charlotte writing what a superlative woman. sonia sotomayor will be a standout on the supreme court, she will be a unique role model, not only for hispanic and women, but for lawyers as well. this is almost a cake walk for the weis latina, sotomayor.

li listen to twitter. if one sets aside sotomayor's gender and ethnicity, one will see a very centrist jurist. when will america stop making decisions intended to absolve past guilts? here's where you can weigh in. i'll show you the address on this page. cnn.com/newsroom. the discussion is going to go all night. even after the show is over, people can keep weighing in, it's nice, fred, people are l t listening and responding to each oemplt it's a true discussion and debate. >> people are candid. i like that josh levs, thanks so much. our best political team on television, really, your best political team on television. weighs in on what's at stake.

with every step you takes the body creates energy that usually goes to waste until now. >> this particular device is designed to capture energy while you're walking. >> it's called the bionic energy harvester. it might look like an athletic knee brace but a closer inspection reveals a harn nezing of power from the body. >> they're producing the mechanical energy initially and it's turned into electrical power. like a battery charger. >> reporter: simply strap on the two pound brace and get moving. with each step the device

transfers the energy from the hop in your step to batteries. hop those into a digital camera or cell phone. >> for walking for one minute, you can produce 20 minutes of talk time on a typical cell phone. so that's a lot of power. >> reporter: it's still in the development phase but researchers are hoping to have it soon where staying connected is key and the power cord can give you more space to roam. >> you become the juice for your devices. that and for many people that means freedom. and an environment in balance. between consuming less and conserving more. there is one important word: how. and it is the how that makes all the difference.

to the planet we all share. judging sonia sotomayor. this is how senator lindsey graham saw the progression. >> unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed. >> and so a lot at stake, not just for sonia sotomayor, who if confirmed would become the first latina on the bench, but lots of stake on capitol hill, and the white house. we checked in with the best political team on television. candy crowley and brianna keilar. candy, let me begin with you, judge sotomayor didn't meltdown. shot white house be confident she will be confirmed on tuesday. >> the white house can plan the party, yes, absolutely. look, she went into these hearings with 60 votes, 58

democrats. and 2 independents. the real mystery now is how many republicans will vote for her? i suspect you will be surprised by the number. a couple of them have already come out, so yes, handily. the republicans already said they weren't going to filibuster this. they can plan the brianna, on e parties were very civil. how much did capitol hill need it to be such? >> i think hearings like this are pretty civil. we were expecting going into this, remember when she was announced, there was a huge outcry from conservative pundits some of whom called her a bigot and you saw republican senators pulling back on that we saw a continuation of that during this hearings. they treated her with respect but also asked tough questions at the same time, but was the feeling that the capitol hill and senate judiciary committee had a lot to lose if it got out

of control? >> i don't think that there was any sense that it was going to get out of control. remember, on the first day we heard from senator lindsey graham, he said to judge sotomayor, unless you have a meltdown, i expect you're going to be confirmed and he said he didn't expect her to have meltdown and certainly there was none. >> so, candy, this early on into this administration, how much of a feather in the skap a potential confirmation for this white house at this juncture? >> listen, it is also a feather in the cap, you know why? because presidents last four or eight years and supreme court justices last for decades. so the fact of the matter is this is probably the most me meaningful thing, certainly one of the most meaningful things that a president can do. this was not a particularly tough victory for president obama of the numbers he has up

on capitol hill and because more importantly, certainly so far as republicans are concerned, in terms of whether or not they would try to stop the nomination with a filibuster, is that this doesn't change the makeup of the court. >> might this serve as any indicator of what this will be like for this white house as it tries to push forward, whether it be other supreme court are nominees during this administration or other big matter, big issues? >> the big issue is going to be tougher. again, it depends on when a supreme court retirement comes up from which side of the balance would the nominee come. and that's always a-you never know about the individual and so there's always an unknown. insofar as his agenda is concerned, i think we're already seeing that the president is having some trouble with getting his health care through. he wanted it before the august recess. it doesn't look as though he's to have it. that has less to do with his popularity, which still remains above 50% an more to do with the fact that health care is a huge

issue, that there are contentious provisions in this, certainly very controversial and frankly capitol hill doesn't do things quickly very much and this would be pretty quick for such a huge measure. so two things, supreme court nominees is really hard to anticipate how the next nomination might go. but certainly as any president moves through his administration and his years, things get tougher, particularly when you're talking about big things. >> all right, thanks to our best political team on television, brianna keilar and candy crowley. we want to thank you for joining us for this hour of judging sonia sotomayor. so many people who contribute the avery friedman, are charmaine yost. rick san and his guests. and the law school students and josh levs. "cnn newsroom" continues with don lemon right after this.

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