GOP Softens Attack On Sotomayor, Still Trying To Score Points Against Obama

The recent remarks accusing Judge Sonia Sotomayor as a "racist" have been retracted and softened, somewhat, by Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich, the leading lights of the Republican party.
The one main thing all of the Republicans keep bringing up is the now infamous quote from a speech given in a Berkeley law lecture in 2001.
"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
This quote was taken wholly out of context and her speech belies the stupid accusation that she is a racist.
Also the quote has consistently been misrepresented. Now when it is brought up by her detractors they say she thinks a wise Latina woman would make a better decision than a white male. That is not what she said. She said "I would hope that..." not "I think that..." Her actual statement was not a definitive statement but an expression of aspiration. Perhaps it wasn't necessarily the best choice of words but the Republicans are grasping at the flimsiest of straws here.
Another strange argument came from South Carolina Republican Senator Lyndsey Graham. He said that when Obama voted against John Roberts Obama was not following the former standard that a President should be allowed to place his nominees onto the Supreme Court regardless of political orientation. Graham hinted he would not vote for Sotomayor because Obama did not vote for Roberts. Now that is another stupid statement! Graham seems to be saying that Supreme Court nominees must be "tit for tat!" That is the "Graham standard?"
The Constitution says the Senate must give "advice and consent" when considering court nominees. It does not say the Senate should be a rubber stamp for the President and it does not require that a Senator must explain their vote one way or another.