“I have a test in life. I call it
the Monday morning test.
When you wake up Monday
morning, do you feel
immediately and instinctively,
‘I can’t wait to go to work?’
If you have to think
about it, you fail.”
—Sen. Charles Schumer
and studied the Supreme Court, he came to the conclusion that the
most important factor determining how influential a new justice
would be with his or her colleagues was their personality and life
experiences. After meeting Sonia Sotomayor, he believed she would
have a profound influence on the court for decades to come.
AVENUE: How did it feel to usher Justice Sonia Sotomayor through
the Supreme Court confirmation process and see her confirmed?
CS: I was honored to have recommended then-Second Circuit Judge
Sonia Sotomayor to President Obama even before there was a
vacancy on the Supreme Court this year. I did so because she is a
brilliant jurist who is thoughtful and fair, and because she is a great
New Yorker. After his interview with Sotomayor, President Obama
and I talked on the phone. The President told me then that when he
was a law school professor at the University of Chicago Law School
AVENUE: How do you like being in the Senate?
CS: I have a test in life. I call it the Monday morning test. When you
wake up Monday morning, do you feel immediately and
instinctively, “I can’t wait to go to work.” If you have to think about
it, you fail. I have been blessed because in my 35 years as a legislator
in the Assembly, the House of Representatives and in the Senate,
I have always been able to pass the Monday morning test.
There are so many things I love about the Senate—the broad
diversity of life experiences, working in a place where ideas and
people meet with so many interesting colleagues and, most
importantly, the ability to make life a little better for the people of
our city, state and country.
