Sotomayor draws praise from GOP critics

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WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor drew praise from GOP skeptics as well as from Democratic supporters Thursday on her last day of Senate questioning that’s expected to lead to her confirmation. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., described Sotomayor’s judicial record as "generally in the mainstream." He also said he thought she would keep an open mind on gun rights and proclaimed her "not an activist."Graham, who earlier predicted Sotomayor would be confirmed barring a "meltdown," said the 55-year-old appeals court judge had "said some things that just bug the hell out of me," but he added that he thought she could separate those views from her job as a justice. "You have been very reassuring here today and throughout this hearing that you’re going to try to understand the difference between judging and whatever political feelings you have about groups or gender," Graham said. Sotomayor, President Barack Obama’s choice to become the first Hispanic woman on the court, was on her third and final day of questioning, having avoided taking clear stands under repeated prodding on a range of hot-button issues, from campaign finance law to guns and abortion. Graham was not in the Senate when Sotomayor was confirmed for the appeals court in 1998, but several other Republican senators were. Among them, Sens. Robert Bennett of Utah, Thad Cochran of Mississippi, Susan Collins of Maine, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Olympia Snowe of Maine all voted in favor of her confirmation. Hatch is a member of the Judiciary Committee that is conducting this week’s hearings. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/20090716sotomayor_draws_praise_from_gop_critics/srvc=news&position=also