From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The U.S. Supreme Court and partisan politics.

Hello again, I'm Arminalny, and this is To the Poet from Public Radio International.

A daily look at the issues, Americans care about most.

Even before Judge Sonia Sotomayor got a chance to speak,

Senators on both sides began a debate they conceded was more about politics than the law.

Democrats called her a moderate with a classic American story.

Republicans said her empathy for one side means prejudice against the other.

They raised hot-button issues, including women's rights, the death penalty, and affirmative action.

Today we'll hear about the first day of hearings on a nominee who's widely expected to be confirmed

are both parties using the opportunity to set their agendas.

On reporter's notebook later on, more controversy about the CIA, the Bush administration,

and Democrats in the Congress.

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund, whose contributors include the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur

Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, dedicated to the idea that all people

deserve the chance to live a healthy, productive life. Information at gatesfoundation.org.

Hello again. Warren Alney, back with To the Point. Judge Sonia Sotomayor is likely to be the next

member of the U.S. Supreme Court.

But senators of both parties are using her confirmation hearings as a political platform.

We'll hear about the first day of what could be a week of setting agendas.

On reporter's notebook, two questions about the CIA.

...