Obama says in AP interview that Supreme Court ‘moved the ball’ on racial hiring preferences

September 24th, 2009 Sotomayor got lost on way to White HouseWASHINGTON — A funny thing happened on Sonia Sotomayor's drive to Washington to be announced as President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court nominee: She got lost. The Supreme Court's first Hispanic justice told C-SPAN that a friend drove her from New York City to the District of Columbia the night before her appearance at the White House with Obama.

August 21st, 2009 NY governor says media using racial stereotypesALBANY, N.Y. — New York's governor says the media are exploiting racial stereotypes in their coverage of him, President Barack Obama and fellow black Gov.

July 12th, 2009 Obama phones Sotomayor on eve of hearingsWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has called his Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, to wish her luck at her confirmation hearings. The White House says Obama called the appellate court judge from the Oval Office on Sunday.

July 5th, 2009 Obama bemoans golf swing to Russian reporterWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he doesn't like his golf swing and the ball never goes where he wants. Obama told Russian state-run Rossiya TV and ITAR-TASS news agency that he's been working on his golf game lately.

July 3rd, 2009 Republican: Sotomayor had ties to extreme groupWASHINGTON — The top Republican on the Senate committee that will consider Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination says a Puerto Rican civil rights group's papers could shed light on her judicial approach, particularly her view of racial preferences in hiring. White House Counsel Greg Craig, however, told Sen.

July 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON — Days from his first Moscow summit, President Barack Obama declared Thursday that former Russian President Vladimir Putin "still has a lot of sway" in his nation and needs an in-person reminder the Cold War is over. On next week's trip, Obama will meet not only with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev but with Putin, the prime minister who hand-picked Medvedev as his successor.

July 2nd, 2009 Obama downplays affirmative action as an issueWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he's never believed that affirmative action is as much of an issue as it's been made out to be. He says it hasn't been as "potent a force for racial progress" as its supporters have said, and that it hasn't been as bad for white students or job applicants as its critics say.

July 2nd, 2009 Obama: Court leaves room for affirmative actionWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court is "moving the ball" to limit affirmative action, but he stressed that its ruling in favor of white firefighters still allows employers and educators to take race into account in hiring, promotions and admissions. The president, a former constitutional law professor, avoided criticizing this week's 5-4 ruling even though it reversed a decision his own high court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, had endorsed as an appeals court judge.

July 2nd, 2009 Court 'moving ball' on racial hiring, Obama saysWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Thursday the Supreme Court was "moving the ball" on affirmative action in this week's decision favoring white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., but he added that the court had not ruled out the use of racial preferences in the future. In a White House interview with The Associated Press, the president also said, "I don't think that hiring on the basis of race ...

July 2nd, 2009 Putin has 'one foot in old ways,' Obama saysWASHINGTON — On the eve of a trip to Moscow, President Barack Obama chided Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday for keeping "one foot in the old ways of doing business." By contrast, he said Putin's handpicked successor as president understands that Cold War behavior is outdated. In a White House interview with The Associated Press, the president said he will meet with both Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev on his trip, in hopes they can "move in concert in cooperating with us on some critical issues." On an important domestic issue, Obama said the Supreme Court was "moving the ball" on affirmative action in this week's decision favoring white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., but he added that the court had not ruled out the use of racial preferences.

June 27th, 2009 Court gave baseball 1922 pass on antitrust lawsWASHINGTON — Football may be the nation's most popular sport, but baseball is the favored game with the Supreme Court, which gave the national pastime an exemption from antitrust laws in 1922. Thirty-five years later, the court refused to grant one to the National Football League, saying, essentially, that the court muffed that first call but that it was up to Congress to reverse it.

June 8th, 2009 Laura Bush glad Obama picked woman for high courtWASHINGTON — Former first lady Laura Bush says she's pleased that President Barack Obama nominated a woman for the Supreme Court. "I think she sounds like a very interesting and good nominee," Bush said of Sonia Sotomayor, the federal appeals judge Obama picked.

May 1st, 2009 Obama: Souter successor should be seated by Oct.WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he will nominate an individual who is "dedicated to the rule of law" to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the Supreme Court. The president interrupted his press secretary's regular White House briefing to tell reporters he had just spoken by phone with Souter (SOO-ter).

May 1st, 2009 Obama hopes for new justice by OctoberWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Friday he will replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter with someone who shares the president's respect for "constitutional values" and hopes to have "him or her" seated on the nation's highest court by the start of the next term in October. In a dramatic flourish, Obama interrupted spokesman Robert Gibbs' daily press briefing to announce that he had just talked to Souter.

April 22nd, 2009 High court hears reverse discrimination argumentsWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is weighing whether a Connecticut city's decision to scrap a promotion exam for firefighters because too few minorities passed violates the civil rights of top-scoring white applicants. The justices are hearing arguments Wednesday in a case from New Haven, Conn., that has the potential to change hiring practices nationwide.