Last Day of Grilling for Sotomayor; President Obama's Message to NAACP
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Rick, thanks very much. Happening right now, Sonia Sotomayor walks away from her confirmation hearings leaving at least one Republican "bugged" and some others confused. But she seems to have avoided any meltdowns that might keep her off the United States Supreme Court. President Obama shows some tough love. He's set to hold African- Americans to a higher standard in remarks before the NAACP later tonight. And how drug abusers go shopping for dentists willing to pull out their prescription pads. We're digging deeper into a problem getting new attention after Michael Jackson's death. I'm Wolf Blitzer in CNN's command center for breaking news, politics, and extraordinary reports from around the world. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Republicans gave Sonia Sotomayor a few final digs before showing her the door of the Senate hearing room earlier today. But in the end, everyone acknowledged that she's firmly on track to become the first Hispanic member of the United States Supreme Court. A full Senate vote on her nomination is expected next month. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, has watched every minute of these hearings some of them very, very grueling. Tough questioning. Dana's joining us now live with the latest -- Dana.</s>DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. And on this last day of grilling for Sonia Sotomayor, it was clear the Republican strategy was already to look ahead.</s>BASH (voice-over): Republicans know Sonia Sotomayor's path to confirmation is clear, so those leaning against her focused where they see her as out of the mainstream and on political issues for the next election.</s>SEN. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: My constituents in Oklahoma understand, as do most Americans, that the right to own guns hangs in the balance.</s>SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I can assure your constituents that I have a completely open mind on this question.</s>BASH: One Republican made quite clear he believes that.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You're able, after all these years of being a judge, to embrace a right that you may not want for yourself, to allow others to do things that are not comfortable to you but for the group. That's what makes you, to me, more acceptable as a judge and not an activist.</s>BASH: Lindsey Graham also said this...</s>GRAHAM: You have said some things that just bug the hell out of me.</s>BASH: He was, of course, talking about her "wise Latina" comment and, leading the witness, asked her to explain it yet again.</s>SOTOMAYOR: I regret that I have offended some people. I believe that my life demonstrates that that was not my intent, to leave the impression that some have taken from my words.</s>GRAHAM: You know what, Judge? I agree with you. Good luck.</s>BASH: After Sotomayor was thanked and dismissed, outside witnesses were ushered in, including Frank Ricci, a New Haven firefighter. Conservatives have seized on his race discrimination case, criticizing Sotomayor for ruling against him and 19 other mostly white firefighters without explanation.</s>FRANK RICCI, NEW HAVEN FIREFIGHTER: Despite the important civil rights and constitutional claims we raised, the Court of Appeals panel disposed of our case in an unsigned, unpublished summary order that consisted of a single paragraph.</s>BASH: Now, Sotomayor seems like such a shoo-in, one Republican senator accidentally addressed her as "Justice," as if she already has the job. And, you know, even the lead Republican on the committee said right here behind me, in front of everybody, he sees no reason why Sotomayor can't have a full Senate vote by the time Congress leaves for August recess -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: It looks like it's happening. That train is leaving the station. All right, Dana. Thank you. Sonia Sotomayor told senators today she's lived on a judge's salary for 17 years ever since she left the lucrative practice on Wall Street at a law firm, and that if she's confirmed to the Supreme Court, she can, and I'm quoting now, "suffer through more of it." She took a huge pay cut to become a federal judge. Right now, associate justices earn $208,100 a year. That's slightly less than the chief justice, who makes more than $217,000 every year. Sotomayor currently earns more than $179,000 a year as an appeals court judge. Senator Jeff Sessions put the pay issue into perspective.</s>SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), ALABAMA: I think that it's about four times the average family income in America. I hope that you can live on it. If not, you probably shouldn't take the job.</s>BLITZER: She said she could certainly live on it and has for 17 years. Federal judges, by the way, haven't received a substantial pay hike since 1991, and they can earn considerably more if they practice in the private sector, especially for those big Wall Street law firms. President Obama goes before the nation's oldest civil rights organization a few hours from now, and it may not be the full-out celebration some people are expecting. We're getting an early read on the message he'll deliver promoting responsibility and warning against mediocrity. Let's go to our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux. She's already in New York. Suzanne, what are you learning about the president's address before the NAACP later tonight?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're actually waiting for the excerpts, and one senior administration official says that the president is still tinkering with his speech, so we don't have those excerpts yet, but it is something that he's been working on for the last two weeks. The bottom line to this speech, he is going to say it's not just the government that should take more responsibility, but individuals who should also take responsibility, that that is what made the civil rights movement so successful, and particularly when it comes to education and to raising our children, no matter what their race, their faith, or their place in life.</s>MALVEAUX (voice-over): One hundred years after the birth of the NAACP, a major address by the first African-American president.</s>BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, it is always humbling to speak before the NAACP, because it's a powerful reminder of the debt that we all owe to those who marched for us and fought for us and stood up on our behalf.</s>MALVEAUX: Just last year as a candidate, Barack Obama was both deferential and defiant before the civil rights group.</s>OBAMA: I know there's some who have been saying I've been too tough talking about responsibility. NAACP, I'm here to report I'm not going to stop talking about it.</s>MALVEAUX: Taking on some of his African-American critics, Mr. Obama delivered a message of tough love, echoed just last weekend in Ghana.</s>OBAMA: We all know that the future of Africa is in the hands of Africa.</s>MALVEAUX: The historic election of the United States' first African-American president highlights the NAACP's role in fighting for equality and opportunity.</s>BEN JEALOUS, NAACP PRESIDENT: This is a big step that we've taken, having a black family in the White House and ending that 233- year-old color barrier, but there's a lot more work that needs to be done.</s>MALVEAUX: This, after former President Bush kept the NAACP at arm's length, declining their invitations to address them for five years.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thanks very much, Bruce. Thanks for your introduction. Bruce is a polite guy. I thought what he was going to say, "It's about time you showed up."</s>BUSH: And I'm glad I did.</s>MALVEAUX: Now a new president, a new dynamic.</s>CLARENCE PAGE, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": I think his big challenge now is going to be in talking to them about issues that have concerned him in the past, like problems with teen pregnancy and black-on-black crime that the NAACP hasn't been that eager to deal with.</s>MALVEAUX: And Wolf, the president did something rather rare today. He invited seven journalists who represent predominantly the black media aboard Air Force One to take their questions. It lasted about 21 minutes or so. We got a full report from that session, and he was asked about a racial incident that had happened in Pennsylvania. He said just because we have a black president doesn't mean that these racial incidents are not going to happen. And he also pretty much stuck with the script. He was asked about whether or not he had pressure, facing pressure as the first African-American president. And he said, "Well, I have pressure basically being a president to serve all of America." That is something that we consistently hear, that he downplays the issue of race -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: We'll be watching that speech closely, together with you, Suzanne. Thanks very much. The Republican Party's first African-American chairman is urging the NAACP to give the GOP a chance. Just ahead, I'll be speaking with Michael Steele about the president's message to African-Americans and a lot more. And such a serious matter leaves little room for fun and games. But over at the U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the newest senator finds ways to lighten the mood a bit. Wait until you hear how Senator Al Franken mixed some serious questions with comedy. And death and disaster mars Madonna's concert tour. You're going to find out how The Material Girl's schedule is being impacted after a man dies amid concert preparations. And 40 years ago today, Americans blasted off on a course that forever changed history.