In English, please

U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn gave it a whirl: When his turn came to quiz Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, the Muskogee Republican suggested they have a conversation most Americans could understand. An obstetrician, Coburn suggested the only thing as eye-glazing as a bunch of lawyers talking legalese would be a bunch of doctors immersed in medical lingo. The judge didn’t take the hint. Her responses to Coburn’s questions were dotted with lawyer talk — “precedents,” “reaffirming,” “core holding,” “claimant.” And when Sotomayor explained the word “fundamental” is defined differently in legal circles, eyeballs all over America frosted over. Nice try anyway, senator.

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