President Biden obviously has a lot of things on his mind, but I was surprised that his presentation of Ketanji Brown Jackson wasn’t more powerful. I was especially surprised that, in fulfilling his campaign promise, he didn’t tout that KBJ is the first African American woman nominated to the Supreme Court. At best he made the point obliquely, with statements like these:
I believe it’s time that we have a court that reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation…
[A White House display celebrating Black History Month] includes a judicial oath of office taken and signed by Justice [Thurgood] Marshall himself, an oath that will be once again administered to a distinguished American [who] will help break [write?] the next chapter in the journey of America.
(I’m using an MSNBC transcript.)
By contrast, Judge Jackson was, as I expected, very appealing, even if (or, rather, because) her opening might make lefty secularists and fans of the 1619 Project shudder:
I must begin these very brief remarks by thanking God for delivering me to this point in my professional journey. My life has been blessed beyond measure, and I do know that one can only come this far by faith. Among my many blessings, and indeed the very first, is the fact that I was born in this great country. The United States of America is the greatest beacon of hope and democracy the world has ever known.