Rep. Smith to Fox host, "[E]mpathy was but one word" Obama used to describe nominee "so focusing on it obsessively ... is kind of ridiculous"

Since when did empathy develop such a negative connatation?
faux news should add ridiculous obsessions under their label.

Obama should have said he was looking for someone with "sociopathy". The right-wingers would have been more than happy to go along with that.

I REALLY wish this guy was my congressman instead of Mario Diaz-Balart.

"Empathy" is a laudable characteristic in most cases. But the symbolism inherent in the image of Justice as blindfolded tells you what's wrong with it in a Supreme Court Justice. Justice is supposed to be blind, not aware of and sensitive to the human appeal of one litigant or the other. Empathetic judges are likely to always rule in favor of individual human beings, with which they may feel empathy, than of artificial corporations that have a much harder time presenting their human faces. It is nothing less than shocking that a man who claims expertise in Constitutional law wwould make a statement that runs so contrary to the theory of justice and the system our civilization has evolved to pursue it.

The theory is that judges will render verdicts based on facts and law. There is no place for empathy in such decisions. The Right is absolutely correct to attach significance to this and any of you that hope that a case in which you seek justice is decided on the basis of fact and law instead of the empathy your opponent may be able to invoke should be quaking at the implications of this choice of words.

If you can understand the importance of this in no other way, imagine that you are being sued by an orphaned war-widow bound to a wheelchair who claims you tricked her out of the wee bit of money she'd saved that might have fed her sick children for another few weeks. The problem is, all you did was sell her a used __________ as per agreement. Do you want your judge moved by empathy? Or would you rather see them respond to the facts and the law?

Wingnuts apparently don't read much and must have short attention spans

Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President. So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.

I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving as just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded, and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time.