Sonia: An Eye for Others

It’s a beautiful photo released by the White House of young Sonia Sotomayor with her sister and cousins, which is that much more interesting for the angle.

Besides adding mortar to the warm and richly personal portrayal (and marketing) of Sotomayor, the photo reinforces the ethnic dimension of the nomination, the image suggesting an old LIFE Magazine story on Hispanic life in America.

What is also a subtle endorsement (and reflective of her personality, from what I’ve read) is the way Sotomayor’s focus — at the expense of the attention — is on the other children.

(photo: Sotomayor family via White House, May 26, 2009)