8 seconds ago 2010-01-07T08:56:04-08:00
Here's how important the first post-Sotomayor public-witness panel is: Chairman Patrick Leahy wasn't even there. The Vermont Democrat was in a booth above the hearing room, being interviewed on MSNBC, while one of the most junior members on the panel, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., grilled witnesses from the American Bar Association. Few senators joined him.
-Laurie Kellman, AP reporter, Congress
