Sotomayor approved; GOP holy day ends

THURSDAY WAS a sort of Holy Day for Republican senators who opposed Sonia Sotomayor. They enjoyed another opportunity for the party's preaching class to lead America away from the suspected judicial iniquities of the Dragon Lady. There are values of greater importance than competence, although they don't always apply to those who are making such distinctions. There was, for example, a befuddled John McCain who described Sotomayor as "immensely qualified" - then voted against her.

Among the nine Republicans who jumped ranks was Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, who will be retiring next year. Voinovich has been showing signs, often symptoms of a lame-duck status, of growing impatient with the southern regional command of his party - and is not shy about saying so. Good work, George!

Meanwhile, the Democrats voted unanimously to support her, a rare glimpse of how much more effective the party could be if it ever got its ideological act together. Fat chance. You don't have to be a party insider to know that such unanimity on a regular basis is like asking a Canada goose to hang out with a hummingbird.

I'm sure that Sotomayor's political opponents had worked overtime to find the smoking gun that would deny her nomination. Obviously, none was found. An historic moment, her rise to the Supreme Court bench. Despite the NRA's opposition, it wasn't even close .