Apologies for abandoning my post for a few days. Thanks to those who emailed to inquire if I was okay. I went to check up on my Mom (in her 80s, doing fine, approved of my haircut but not my wardrobe). But I neglected to leave a post explaining I would be radio silent for a few days.

Of course the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor broke while I was away and I'm just scrambling to catch up. A few thoughts I've picked up from reading this a.m., mostly on the politics of it:

• Says Chris Cillizza of the WashPost: Barring unexpected revelations of some kind of impropriety, Republicans have little chance of keeping Sotomayor off the Supreme Court, but they might have some success using the appointment to attack Obama as more of a partisan liberal than a "postpartisan" guy who wants to reach across the aisle to find solutions that unite.

• On a similar note, Politico writes: "Ironically, it’s the pick both sides wanted: -- As the most arguably liberal of the four finalists, Sotomayor provides the most fodder for conservative groups, which have vowed to spend millions of dollars on television advertising. Leaders hope a court brawl will help rebuild their movement."

• MSNBC's daily political tipsheet First Read suggests that if you want know which Repub sens are contemplating a White House run, keep track of which ones vote against Sotomayor. First Read suggests that during the second Bush term, opposition to the nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito were something of an indicator of presidential ambitions. Sen. Barack Obama voted against Roberts' confirmation, by the way, and later became the first president ever sworn in by a chief justice whose confirmation he had opposed. (First Read didn't mention that last fact. I got it from a fine New Yorker profile of Roberts by the excellent Jeffrey Toobin.)

• Sotomayor was appointed to her first federal judgeship under the first Pres. Bush, and this fact has lent a surprising bipartisan tinge to the story of her career. But it ain't what it appears. The Weekly Standard explains that there were seven New York judgeship vacancies that were stalled in 1992. The Dem majority in the Senate was holding up the confirmations. The deal that ended the deadlock allowed New York's then Repub Sen. Alphonse D'Amato to pick nominees for five of the vacancies, and New York's then Dem Sen. Pat Moynihan to recommend names for two of the seats. Moynihan recommended Sotomayor and, in keeping with the deal, Pres. Bush nominated her.

• It may be a better sign of her ability to attract bipartisan support that when she came before the Senate the second time, in 1998 for promotion to the appellate court, Sotomayor was confirmed by 67-29 and received the support of 25 Republican sens. Of those, seven are still serving and still Repubs (that's a Specter reference), including some very conservative senators. Those Repubs who voted for her in '98 and will be voting on her again this year: Robert Bennett of Utah, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Dick Lugar of Indiana and Olympia Snowe of Maine.