Will KBH play statesman or politician?

The following is an excerpt from a story about Sen. Kay Baily Hutchison that appeared in the May 20, 1993, edition of the Dallas Morning News:

"Ms. Hutchison said she will not apply any 'litmus test' to a (Supreme Court) nominee, and she indicated in an April debate that she would vote to confirm an abortion-rights supporter if the person is qualified overall. 'I would only vote against a Supreme Court nominee if there was a question of character, if the person was unfit for office or unqualified for office,' Ms. Hutchison said."

Using that standard, there seems to be no question that Sen. Hutchison will vote to approve Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the court. Yeah, but wait a minute. According to the latest polls, KBH, who is seeking to wrest the Texas GOP gubernatorial nomination from Gov. Hair, is 10 points behind the incumbent and needs to do more to pander to the extreme right wing of the party that will ultimately decide the nominee. Hence the prediction here is she will vote against a nominee of unquestionable character who comes to the position with more federal judicial experience than any other Supreme Court nominee in a 100 years.

I also think it won't do her any good and probably a lot of harm. She will lose the nomination anyway (especially if she continues to run as poor a campaign as she has to date) and will irreparably damage her image among Hispanics who currently comprise 30 percent of Texas' voting population. Anyone who puts themselves in a no-win situation is, by definition, bound to lose.