A week is a long time in the politics of a word. And the word that defined the new Supreme Court nominee for Republicans– empathy– has taken on a rapidly different meaning from the one intended by President Obama when he set forth the criteria for the nominee earlier this month. Now Obama seems to have dropped the word, opting for explanations that can't easily pop up on cable talk shows. The Takeaway talks to language columnist Barbara Wallraff to look at the true meaning of the word and its rapid evolution in Washington.

Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor grew up in the projects in the Bronx, then went on to Princeton and Yale Law School before working as a Manhattan DA and then a federal judge. Yale Law Professor and novelist Stephen Carter was in Sotomayor's law school class, now he teaches some of her opinions in her own classes. He'll join John and Farai to share his professional—and personal—perspective on the nominee. Also joining the conversation is Jenny Rivera who clerked for Sotomayor in 1993 and is now a law professor at the City University of New York Law School.

Click here for a slideshow of pictures from Sotomayor's life.

One of the many issues the new Supreme Court Justice will have to address is what to wear. A lace jabot like Sandra Day O'Connor? Something more... modern? The Takeaway talks to Susan Scafidi, a law professor at Fordham Law School who writes the blog Counterfeit Chic. ...(And click here for a photo gallery of judicial fashions)

As President Obama puts his mark on the Supreme Court, Republicans are cautioning against a return to a liberal court. But New York Times Magazine contributor – and law professor – Jeffrey Rosen says Obama is redefining the ideological debate.

For more, read Jeffrey Rosen's story in the New York Times Magazine, What’s a Liberal Justice Now?. Also read Rosen's article in The New Republic, The Case Against Sotomayor.

President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday. His pick is a New York Puerto Rican who is generally considered left-leaning. But once a judge is actually on the court, there's no way of knowing how they will rule. FDR hated Felix Frankfurter's love of judicial restraint. And David Souter, whose seat Sonia Sotomayor is nominated to fill, surprised George H.W. Bush, the president who nominated him, by becoming one of the more liberal justices. Joining us to discuss how Supreme Court justices develop their view is Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman, who once clerked for Justice Souter, and John Schwartz, the legal correspondent for The New York Times.

In case you missed it, here's President Obama officially nominating Judge Sotomayor:

President Obama is about to announce his Supreme Court pick: Sonia Sotomayor, the first American of Puerto Rican descent to be appointed to the Federal bench in New York City, now in the Appeals Court of the 2nd Circuit. Judge Sotomayor earned a reputation as a sharp, outspoken and fearless jurist, someone who does not let powerful interests bully, rush or cow her into a decision. For more about the potential Justice we turn to Jenny Rivera, who clerked for Judge Sotomayor in the Southern District of New York Court in 1992 and is now a professor at the City University of New York Law School and the Director of the Center for Latino and Latina Rights and Equality. We are also joined by Slate Magazine's Senior Legal Correspondent Dahlia Lithwick.

President Obama will nominate Judge Sonia Sotomayor of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit as his first appointment to the court. New Yorkers have long known this judge who grew up in the Bronx in the shadows of Yankee Stadium. Back in 1995, Judge Sotomayor issued an injunction against major league baseball owners, effectively ending a baseball strike of nearly eight months. For what the rest of the nation needs to know about this likely pick to fill the seat of retiring Justice David Souter, we turn to New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny.

Here is a clip of Sotomayor speaking at Duke University in 2005, which has stirred some controversy.

Several administration officials say President Obama has settled on his pick for the Supreme Court. The name that's being floated is Sonia Sotomayor, who's been a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 1998. Joining us to discuss her background and her record as a judge is Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Correspondent for the New York Times.

President Obama is expected to announce that he will fill retiring Justice David Souter's seat on the high court with Sonia Sotomayor. She would be the first Hispanic member of the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is a self-described "Newyorkican" who grew up in housing projects in the Bronx after her parents moved to New York from Puerto Rico. She attended Princeton University and Yale Law School before becoming a prosecutor and a federal judge. She also has a bipartisan background, having been appointed to the bench by George H.W. Bush and then nominated to the appeals court by Bill Clinton. And did we mention that she helped end the baseball strike? For more about the potential Justice we turn to Slate Magazine's Senior Legal Correspondent Dahlia Lithwick.

Early reports say that President Obama has made his choice for the U.S. Supreme Court. The pick to fill retiring Justice Souter's seat appears to be Sonia Sotomayor. She has been a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit since 1998. Before joining the appeals court, she served as a United States District Court judge for the Southern District of New York. The Takeaway turns to Columbia Law Professor Nate Persily for more.