GRITtv: May 26, 2009

Barack Obama has picked Sonia Sotomayor to replace David Souter as Supreme Court justice when he steps down later this year. Sotomayor would be the first Hispanic justice and only the third woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. The Republicans are sure to attack Sotomayor for various reasons even though she was first appointed to the bench by George H.W. Bush and confirmed by some of the more rabidly conservative Senators including Jesse Helms and Rick Santorum. Glenn Greenwald lays out some of the likely attacks. But what is the significance of Obama’s decision?