When Biden was putting his cabinet together, I opined that making it “look like America” was largely a waste of time, because the vast majority of Americans don’t even know who the Secretary of Labor is, much less look up to him. Does that reasoning prevail with Supreme Court nominees?
No. Picking the first member of a large, previously unrepresented group for a position of great visibility and power matters. The Supreme Court, like the Vice President, is important. It was consequently appropriate for Biden both to make the promise to appoint a black woman and to keep that promise.