Within hours of President Barack Obama's selection of federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court on Tuesday, praise for the pick was all over the newswires from black leadership.

National Urban League President Marc Morial, Majority Whip James E. Clyburn and NAACP Legal Defense Fund President John Payton were among the first to applaud the selection of Sotomayor, 54, who would become the first Hispanic on the high court.

The support seems to be well-founded. ...

A self-described "Nuyorican," from the Bronx, Sotomayor embodies the intellect (Princeton University and Yale Law School) and the ability to understand the troubles of everyday Americans sought by Obama.

But is anyone else a little surprised that Obama, our first black president, hasn't been criticized for picking a black nominee for the position? Or at least having a black candidate among the final choices?

The most prominently discussed black candidate, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, didn't make the final round of serious candidates, which included 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Diane P. Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kagan and Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm.

A frequent refrain for some black activists has been the need for a progressive black high court justice to counterbalance, at least symbolically, the presence of conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.

The lack of criticism for Obama may signal a promising political maturity on the part of those who would normally berate the president for not picking a black Supreme Court nominee.

Maybe they see that with three aging sitting Supreme Court justices, Obama should have ample opportunity to pick a qualified black candidate during his four or eight years in the White House.

Equally important, the would-be critics might also realize that a progressive Puerto Rican woman from New York will likely have a judicial outlook and world view similar to that of a progressive black jurist.

+ Obama's High Court Pick - You Gotta Know When to Fold 'Em
+ OBAMA SUPREME COURT PICK (Community discussion)

Paul Shepard blogs the Democrat side of politics for Black Voices. He has been a journalist for 16 years on the national urban/minority affairs beat for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and for AP in Washington, D.C. He now runs his own public affairs firm, Shepard Strategic Communications.

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