http://mediamatters.org/research/200905260034Media obsess over Obama's comments, ignore Bush's highlighting of Thomas' "great empathy"
SUMMARY: Media figures and outlets have focused on President Obama's statement that empathy is one of the qualifications he would seek in a Supreme Court nominee, but they have not noted that then-President George H.W. Bush cited "great empathy" in his remarks announcing his selection of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court.
In reporting on President Obama's search for a Supreme Court nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter, media figures and outlets have often focused on the purported controversy over Obama's May 1 statement that he considered the "quality of empathy" one of the qualifications he would seek in a nominee. But those media have not noted that then-President George H.W. Bush cited Clarence Thomas' "great empathy" in his remarks announcing his selection of Thomas to serve on the Supreme Court.
From Bush's July 1, 1991, remarks (accessed from the Nexis database):
(snip)
I have followed this man's career for some time, and he has excelled in everything that he has attempted. He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor. He's also a fiercely independent thinker with an excellent legal mind, who believes passionately in equal opportunity for all Americans. He will approach the cases that come before the Court with a commitment to deciding them fairly, as the facts and the law require.
(end snip)
So, if empathy means activism, what happened here?