I listened to the first day of the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings for a spot as a US Supreme Court justice. I was very impressed. The three who impressed me the most were Al Franken (D-MN), Arlen Specter (D-PA), and Sotomayor herself.
Franken was very well-spoken, even inspirational in his commentary after his introductory remarks. Specter showed himself to be the hard-nosed pit bull of a legislator that we have come to love/hate. The man is clearly knowledgeable about the issues and jurisprudence in a way that would leave you satisfied with the abilities of our legislators.
Sotomayor, as she described herself, is the epitome of what we should be looking for: someone who decides cases based on the law and nothing more. If the GOP wants to get Sotomayor on so-called judicial activism, they have a very difficult struggle in front of them.
Below is some Bloomberg Television commentary about the hearings. If and when I get other footage, I will post it.
Update 1935ET: Here is the transcript of her opening statement via Swampland’s Jay Newton-Small.