Smart People

What's so exciting about Washington DC now is that smart people come in all colors and genders again. I've been to a series of meetings with very smart people, and race and gender have nothing to do with their intelligence. They are smart, they are engaged, they want this great Obama experience to succeed. There are varying degrees of support for the man personally, interesting critiques of various proposals--financial regulation, health care reform, immigration, economic stimulus, wars, national security--but it is about more than Obama. He is personally likable. He is articulate. His intelligence is vast and determined, and shrewd. Michelle is uniformly admired. Obama speaks and everyone listens, even his enemies, but more importantly, men and women who might not have paid attention before. Hope and pride. Those words come up a lot.

Last night I heard Senator Sheldon Whitehouse speak. He was once a US attorney and later an attorney general for the state of Rhode Island. He's a telegenic, tall, handsome, white man with a head of silver hair. He's smart. He spoke about the role of the Supreme Court in American history, he debunked the current Chief Justice's disingenuous statement from his own confirmation hearings that the role of the judge is more like an umpire at a baseball game than someone who makes judgments based on principles, values, experience, and yes, wisdom. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, wait until you hear him speak. There was such clarity, understanding of American history, and confidence that people, all of us, are smart enough to reject the false history that the Supreme Court is some sort of cognitive "Mr. Spock" and not actually reflections of the collective experiences of the men and women who serve.

The ACS (American Constitution Society) is holding its annual meeting. Unfortunately I was only able to attend the opening, because I'm at another set of meetings for the next two days, but watch the discussion about Sonia Sotomayor, and then call some friends.

Want to read the speech?