Long Throat-Clearing from Committee Before Sotomayor Speaks

We knew that today would be a day of scripted formalities on the Hill. The time line for the confirmation hearings for Sonia Sotomayor label today, Monday, as a day for opening statements, meaning that all of the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee would get to exclaim her virtues or air their concerns before she even said a word. First it was committee chairman Patrick Leahy, who exalted the sheer fact that Sotomayor was sitting in front of him as "historic." Then ranking GOP member Jim Sessions accused her of being an activist judge who would ignore the law to rule from her own instinct. "Can we limit opening statements to 10 minutes?" Leahy politely asked the committee--but was really telling them. Several more members of the committee made opening remarks, many of them echoing each other, then the body took two breaks, one for recess and one for lunch. Now, considering it's been almost six weeks since we've heard Sotomayor speak publicly, we're starting to forget what her voice sounds like. When is the woman of the hour going to address the chamber? In due time, is the obvious answer. More specifically, we're told she'll make her opening comments around 3 p.m. Check back in this space for analysis by Newsweek's Howard Fineman, who's closely watching the hearings.