Quotes

Quote 306 of 521

There's a contradiction implicit in O'Connor's view of herself and her
view of others. She is deeply impressed by these extraordinary young
women yet unable to accept that she and they are truly unusual. This
expectation of extraordinariness--natural, perhaps to one born on a
ranch in Arizona and having the heart of a prizefighter--animates her
strange hybrid jurisprudence, of infinite compassion in some cases and
almost willful intolerance in others. One of the reasons audiences
across America lose their hearts to Sandra Day O'Connor is that she
seems to have no idea how extraordinary she is. One of the reasons
people across America sometimes lose their cases before her is that
she has no idea how ordinary the rest of us are.

Dahlia Lithwick, "The cowgirl from Arizona gets personal"
		   http://slate.msn.com/id/2101225/

Tags: infinitecompassion sandraday prizefighter jurisprudence contradiction expectation youngwomen audiences hearts heart