• "Sonia Sotomayor sought" Tuesday "to reframe critics' portrayal of her as a judge swayed by her gender and ethnicity," the Washington Post reports. "On the second day of her confirmation hearings, she stressed the primacy of legal precedents and distanced herself from her most controversial public remark, saying her line that a 'wise Latina' judge might reach better decisions than a white man was 'a rhetorical flourish that fell flat.'"

• "During eight hours of questioning," Sotomayor "offered views on a range of issues, ranging from support for a right of privacy under the Constitution to 'positive experiences' with cameras in her own court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit," the National Law Journal reports.

• Republicans "say they plan to keep up their questioning of Sotomayor's true feelings on the role of ethnicity and gender in the law at" today's "hearing -- and edged right up to the line of saying that Sotomayor was being dishonest in her answers," Politico reports.

• "For all of the buildup, the second day of her confirmation hearings produced few of the anticipated fireworks as senators moved from opening statements to questions and answers," the New York Times reports. "At times, it had more the feel of a law school seminar about statutes of limitation and strict scrutiny standards."

• "Judge Sotomayor approached the" hearings "as a seasoned advocate," the Times also reports, in an analysis. "She struck a tone of attentive deference, avoided needless argument, said no more than she needed to prevail, stuck almost entirely to uncontroversial points and avoided antagonizing her questioners."

• The Blog of Legal Times has a roundup of photos from Day Two.

• The Washington Post has key excerpts from various exchanges Tuesday.

• "Republicans running for the Senate next year, including those scrounging for votes to win difficult primaries, aren't saying how they'd vote on" Sotomayor's confirmation, The Hill reports. "Interviews with a dozen Republicans running for Senate seats across the country failed to find one candidate who was willing to offer a clear position."

• "The environmental community is backing" Sotomayor's nomination, "despite the federal appeals court judge's sparse record in dealing with environmental cases," Politico reports. "Green advocates expect a glut of environmental cases to hit the highest court in the next few years, as industry and environmental groups challenge various aspects of the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and a new climate bill currently being debated in Congress."

Commentary

• "The lack of suspense regarding the outcome left the Judiciary Committee members free to pursue their hobby: bickering among themselves," Dana Milbank quips.

• Ruth Marcus says "the hardest question in the confirmation hearings" isn't related to Sotomayor at all: "Why should Republican senators weighing President Obama's nominee give him more leeway to name justices to his liking than then-Sen. Obama was willing to accord President Bush when he voted against both Bush nominees?"

• Republicans "are using the Sotomayor nomination to advance the broader indictment they are developing against" Obama, "which is that he and his administration are much further to the left than they claim to be," Gerald Seib asserts.

• "After two days of Senate hearings on Sotomayor's nomination, "an onlooker could be forgiven for wondering where all the judicial liberals went," the Wall Street Journal contends. "To hear the adjectives heaped on the judge by members of the President's party, you'd think Mr. Obama had nominated Chief Justice John Roberts's conservative cousin."

• "Despite the best efforts of Republicans to root out any sign that" Sotomayor "has emotions that color her views on the law, the Bronx Bomber kept a robotic mask in place," Maureen Dowd remarks.

• Jeff Jacoby argues Sotomayor (and Supreme Court nominees in general) should be required to answer more questions about legal views and constitutional issues than is customary now.

• USA Today maintains that Sotomayor's long judicial record should be considered first and foremost over her "wise Latina woman" remark and other controversial statements she's made.

• "The obsession with a crude and easy liberal/conservative dichotomy in the media and in the Senate hearing room impedes a sophisticated public understanding of judicial process and the law," Yale law professor Peter H. Schuck writes in the Los Angeles Times.

• Politico has commentary from legal experts and political strategists after Day Two, focusing on GOP strategy.

• The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times round up commentary reviewing Day Two as well.