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Originally Posted by KSig RC
The issue with Thomas was that he was NOT a good jurist - at least, there was a significant chance that he wasn't, according to both the ABA and the general concept of precedent (which he's not particularly fond of). His background got play, but was quickly washed under by the spectacle of his confirmation hearings - and not just Anita Hill.
I'll grant that the backstory probably plays better with DNC-aligned audiences, but it's still generally compelling, and the only 'downside' is that it allows the RNC to really strike using stereotyping and innuendo, which isn't exactly a perfect, no-fail strategy considering how much the Republicans need Hispanics going forward.
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You're absolutely right that Thomas, going in, was clearly not a brilliant legal mind. I did want to point out that, at the very least, he was somewhat qualified for the position; I don't remember GWHB going on and on about his background the way that the disciples of Obama are about Sotomayor. I definitely remember the stories about his having to learn standard English after years of speaking Gullah, but this information didn't make up his entire story for the first 48 hours of the news cycle. I think that the mainstream media is more skeptical about conservatives of color, and that leads to less fawning like we're seeing now.
Granted, I think I'm a little tender about this sort of thing, and as a result am probably a little less than coherent, since the first thing I heard from my liberal colleagues was her background. Why do I care? As a person of color, I could give two ishts about what color or gender the next Supreme Court justice is, or how they grew up.