The scorecard: Winners and losers

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The scorecard: Winners and losers
8 mins ago

Sonia Sotomayor is probably headed to the Supreme Court, but not unscathed. Her Republican rival, Sen. Jeff Sessions, took advantage of the national spotlight, but got singed by it, too.

There are political winners and losers in every nomination fight. And sometimes they're the same people. Here's our first scorecard from the AP's reporters:

WINNERS:

Sotomayor. So far, at least, she's looking like a very wise Latina. Confident, smart, unflappable, and deftly laying the groundwork for good relations with those likely to soon be her fellow justices on the Supreme Court. -Nancy Benac

Sessions. A critic of Sotomayor with his own history of racism allegations, Sessions walked a fine line but came across as aggressive without being mean or insensitive. The Alabama Republican made the case against Sotomayor without the votes to derail her confirmation. -Julie Hirschfeld Davis.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. He wins the prize as the most quoted senator at Sotomayor's confirmation. "Unless you have a complete meltdown, you're going to get confirmed," Graham told Sotomayor. He also said elections have consequences, a deft way of acknowledging her all-but-certain confirmation. -Jesse J. Holland

LOSERS:

Sotomayor. She heads toward confirmation as a caricature, remembered as much for her "wise Latina" quip and her ruling against white firefighters than anything she's accomplished in the past. Maybe even the future. The Supreme Court is a low-profile job so this is likely her longest stretch on the public stage. -Ron Fournier

Sessions. Wondering outloud about Sotomayor's racial biases made Session's past relevant, and front-page news. Sessions was blocked from the federal bench himself two decades ago for making insensitive remarks about the Ku Klux Klan and the NAACP. -Ron Fournier

Graham. The South Carolina Republican seemed to try too hard to outsmart and outwit the nominee. -Merrill Hartson

The scorecard: Winners and losers - Yahoo! News