Graham: "I don't want milquetoast judges."

Jillian Bandes | July 13, 2009 11:33 AM

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) had the best opening statement so far.

Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed.

Sotomayor looked complacent. But she scrunched her eyes a little bit as Graham said that he recognized hearings are more about politics than policy. Graham won't hold it "making policy from the bench" against her, because Graham said he realizes judges from both sides of the aisle do this. He just wants to make sure Sotomayor arrives at those decisions in a sound manner.

Graham said that if he applied Sen. Obama's standard to judging Sotomayor's qualifications, he wouldn't vote for her. Even in light of this, Graham has made it clear that he will not just blindly assume Sotomayor won't get his vote. He said he probably won't agree with her on the "big themes of life" but wants to make sure that she adheres to those themes in a way that's rational and reliable.