Sotomayor Confirmed!

By a vote of 61-38.

"When she places her hand on the Bible and takes the oath of office, the new portrait of the justices of the Supreme Court will clearly reflect who we are as a nation," said Sen. Robert Menendez, the Senate's lone Hispanic Democrat.

"Judge Sotomayor should not be chosen to serve on the court because of her Hispanic heritage, but those who oppose her for fear of her unique life experience do no justice to her or our nation. Their names will be listed in our nation's annals of elected officials one step behind America's historic march forward," said Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois ahead of of the historic vote.

Welcome Sonia! I'm especially glad for Justice Ginsburg, who clearly has not been enjoying her tenure as the Court's only woman.

JUSTICE GINSBURG: It’s almost like being back in law school in 1956, when there were 9 of us in a class of over 500, so that meant most sections had just 2 women, and you felt that every eye was on you. Every time you went to answer a question, you were answering for your entire sex. It may not have been true, but certainly you felt that way. You were different and the object of curiosity.

I hear ya, Ruth. It's worth remembering that Sonia Sotomayor entered Princeton only a few years after women were first admitted to that University. (They were first admitted as undergraduates in 1969, Sotomayor entered in 1976 - at which point women were still scarce.)

As far as women have come, it's worth remembering that the women at the top of power today - Hillary Clinton and Sonia Sotomayor being telling examples - are really the first generation of women for whom it was even possible to enter elite institutions.

Just think how far the rest of us should be able to go, now that we have so much less to hold us back.

Plus, it's fun to say SotoMAYOR. Rolls off the tongue, don't you think?