Sonia Sotomayor Dances with the Judiciary Committee
Bonnie Goldstein
Woman Up Editor
Posted:
07/15/09
I laughed at Mary's image of Sonia Sotomayor as Anita in "West Side Story" singing "A Boy Like That," and Melinda's reference to "Annie Get Your Gun," but my musical memory goes back a few more decades. Watching the Supreme Court justice nominee waltzing with the Republican men on the Senate Judiciary Committee this week reminds me of why Ginger Rogers was considered by many to be a better performer than Fred Astaire.
Rogers didn't need to upstage Astaire to make the point she could swing, soft shoe or dance cheek to cheek with the best of them. Though the leading man was a graceful and adroit dancer, everyone could see Rogers take the same difficult steps as her partner while whirling backwards in high heels. Although C-SPAN has little in common with Depression-era Hollywood romances, I've been noticing in the last few days, as each lawmaker takes his turn in the spotlight, that the woman at the witness table looks him right in the eye and matches his pirouettes, pivots and pattern steps without ever making the man look awkward.
Is it any wonder that Judge Sotomayor, who wears a walking cast while healing from a broken foot, has had the height adjusted on her medical device so she can wear a 4-inch-high pump on the uninjured foot?