Pat Buchanan said Sonia Sotomayor "is not that intelligent." (Earth to Pat: She's probably way more intelligent than you are.) Mike Huckabee called her "Maria." (As if every Latina is named Maria.)

Jerks.

Joan Walsh, from Salon.com, debated Buchanan last night on Hardball with Chris Matthews and wrote about it here.

... it can only get worse for Republicans if they're going to hit Sotomayor the way MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan did debating me on "Hardball" today. (Actually, Mike Huckabee may have sunk lower than Buchanan. Earth to Mike: Calling Sotomayor "Maria" is not going to win you Latino votes in 2012.)

Unbelievably, Buchanan compared Sotomayor to Harriet Miers, President Bush's personal attorney who was, in fact, not at all qualified to be a Supreme Court justice. Ever notice it's the Republicans whose "affirmative action" picks aren't qualified (as in Miers and Clarence Thomas)?

Obama, obviously, disagrees with Buchanan's assessment: