27 seconds ago 2009-11-27T19:19:46-08:00
Sonia Sotomayor says the 9/11 attacks -- a "horrific tragedy" -- did not change her view of the Constitution.
"The Constitution," she said, "is a timeless document."
That seemingly innocuous statement was heavy with political implications. Republican critics of Sotomayor are looking for any reason to cast her -- and therefore President Barack Obama -- as soft on terrorism. Democratic supporters of the Supreme Court nominee want to assure Americans that she won't sacrifice civil liberties, even in a time of war.
Sotomayor pointed out that her New York neighborhood was a staging ground for emergency workers in the aftermath of the attacks.
-Ron Fournier, AP Washington bureau chief
