Except for Senator Coburn’s lame attempt at doing a racist Ricky Ricardo imitation and the discussion with Al Franken about Perry Mason, nothing much happened yesterday.

The best summary I’ve seen of the hearing so far is by Liz Halloran of NPR.

Grain commodity trading contracts. Orange peels for animal feed. Goose bumps. Fendi. Securities law. The baseball All-Star game. And Perry Mason.All were on the table Wednesday as her advocates worked to run out the clock on Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing.

…

Republicans On Sotomayor:

Sotomayor disses heroic firefighters.

She thinks people have different physiologies.

She gives shocking speeches about ethnicity and judgment that undermine her 17 years on the bench.

She might support a woman’s right to abortion.

The National Rifle Association has reservations about her.

And some lawyers who have appeared before her think she’s a pushy broad.

Democrats On Sotomayor:

Her mind is always open.

Jurors are heroes.

She was once a prosecutor.

Did they mention she was a prosecutor?

She is dispassionate when it comes to the law.

She loves facts, not hypotheticals.

She’s tough on white-collar criminals and sends them to prison.

She believes in deference to each branch of government.

Hispanic chambers of commerce support her.

She supports voting rights.

Her life story gives Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island “goose bumps.”

And she really, really wishes she was better at rhetorical flourishes.

And there you have it. 

Day 4 coming up.