A former business partner of mine went to high school with Ms. Sotomayor (Cardinal Spellman, I believe). He said she was no great shakes intellectually and she has an Ivy League background for one reason- she is a Latina. My former partner is a Democrat.
Sonya Sotomayor is our Harriet Miers. They are both intellectual lightweights. We stopped Miers, but the wise Latina is now on the court and will probably be there for the next 30 years. She is an affirmative action appointee.