Biden: Sotomayor "Is The Real Deal"

5065717Vice President Joe Biden today hosted an event with law enforcement groups in honor of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. In conjunction with the event, the White House announced that eight law enforcement organizations are formally endorsing the nominee.

The support of the groups "is going to go a long way to putting to rest some of the ridiculous statements made about the judge," Biden said, though he did not elaborate on the ridiculous statements.

The event was marked by unambiguous praise for Sotomayor, for whom the White House is trying to shore up support in advance of her July 13 confirmation hearings.

Biden lavished compliments on the nominee, offering up lines like this: "This is a woman whose lifelong commitment to law enforcement is just impossible to argue with. I won't say hard to argue, but impossible to argue with."

Biden, who appeared to be speaking without prepared notes, was joined by, among others, New York City District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, for whom Sotomayor worked.

He spoke of her as "a tough-as-nails prosecutor" and discussed Sotomayor's childhood in Bronx public housing projects, where "there's danger lurking, literally, in the stairwell of your apartment complex." He also discussed cases Sotomayor has faced and said she understands what law enforcement officials face daily.

"I just want to say to all the law enforcement organizations represented and that I referenced here today, I truly appreciate you having the moxie to stand up in the face of this stuff and say, look, this woman is the real deal," said the vice president. "This woman is the real deal. It's not just Princeton. It's not just Yale. It's not just her profound intellect. It's not just her incredible academic achievements. It's that she gets it."