Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

May 26, 2009

Behind Obama's Announcement

The New York Times reports President Obama reached his decision to pick Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court over the long Memorial Day weekend, "but it was not disclosed until Tuesday morning when he informed his advisers of his choice less than three hours before the announcement was scheduled to take place."

"Mr. Obama telephoned Judge Sotomayor at 9 p.m. on Monday, officials said, advising her that she was his choice to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. Later Monday night, Mr. Obama called the three other finalists -- Judge Diane P. Wood of Chicago, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Solicitor General Elena Kagan -- to inform them that he had selected Judge Sotomayor."

"White House officials worked into the night to prepare for the announcement, without knowing who it would be."

NBC News notes Sotomayor was at White House for seven hours last Thursday and went undiscovered.

Update: Here are the White House prepared talking points on Sotomayor's nomination.

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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