Cruising The Editorial Pages...

The Oklahoman ~ The Republican Party apparently believes U.S. Rep. Dan Boren can be knocked out of his 2nd District seat next year. Boren is among 80 House Democrats who are being targeted for defeat by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The state’s GOP boss, Gary Jones, says several talented Republicans have said they want to run in 2010, and that despite being heavily Democratic in registration, the 2nd District went strong for Republican presidential candidate John McCain last year. Interesting stuff, but it’s worth noting that Boren, D-Muskogee, has gotten at least 70 percent of the vote in each of his two elections for the office. And, he has a large wad of campaign cash at his disposal. The national GOP might want to aim elsewhere. [Editor's Note: Boren has won election three times; in 2004, he won the general with 66 percent. In 2006, he hit 73 percent. In 2008, he got 70.5 percent.]

Tulsa World ~ The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor as the third woman and first Hispanic on the U.S. Supreme Court never was in real doubt. She is well qualified with a diversity of experience unmatched on the court: private practice, prosecutor, trial judge and appellate judge. And, of course, the votes were there all along, as evidenced by her 68-31 margin. Oklahoma's two U.S. senators, James Inhofe and Tom Coburn, were not among the nine Republicans who joined the Democratic majority to make her a justice. They, along with 29 other members of the GOP, instead gave the equivalent of the Bronx cheer to this wise Latina woman, an Ivy League graduate and daughter of the New York City housing projects. With Coburn and Inhofe, partisanship is a line in the sand, almost never to be crossed — a consistency which, for better, or worse, Oklahomans can count on. Sotomayor, however, is unlikely to meet their cynical expectations. Her judicial record — 17 years on the bench is the best evidence that she is not a judicial activist in sheep's clothing. The political polarization that has become a standing feature of Supreme Court confirmation hearings, no matter which political party is in control, does not benefit the country. The hearings confuse observers more than they enlighten them about a nominee. Sotomayor acquitted herself well during this political theater, which is good training for what? She attempted to dispel claims that her personal background would somehow override her duty to follow the law. She said she'd be cautious in overturning precedents and that she believed judicial activism had its limits. She made no promises about how she might rule on any given issue, signaling an open mind rather than a closed one. When the 111th justice packs her bags in anticipation of the first Monday in October, the traditional opening of the Supreme Court term, she will bring with her sound judgment, keen intellect and a wealth of experience. Rest assured, Justice Sonia Sotomayor will not pack lightly.

The Oklahoman ~ The "birther” movement has been taken so seriously that some members of the military have actually resisted orders to deploy to Afghanistan on grounds that Barack Obama wasn’t born in the United States and therefore can’t be commander in chief. The movement has garnered support from Rush Limbaugh, who never encouraged the conspiracy theories regarding Bill Clinton, but National Review magazine says it’s time for the "birther” talk to stop. No fans of Obama, the magazine says, "There are plenty of real reasons to oppose Barack Obama and his statist ambitions — being the party of reality, conservatives have no need of imaginary ones.” National Review says the theories about Obama’s birthplace are nonsense. We concur.

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