Video: Biden and Chief Justice Eulogize Sandra Day O’Connor

“Gracious and wise, civil and principled, Sandra Day O’Connor, the daughter of the American West, was a pioneer in her own right, breaking down the barriers in legal and political worlds and the nation’s consciousness. Yes, America is the land of rugged individualists, adventurers and entrepreneurs. But she knew no person is an island — in the fabric of our nation, we’re all inextricably linked.” “It has been said that the Supreme Court is like a family, a family composed entirely of in-laws. The time when women were not on the bench seemed so far away because Justice O’Connor was so good when she was on the bench. She was so successful that the barriers she broke down are almost unthinkable today, but not so in her lifetime. Sandra Day O’Connor had to study and launch a career in the law when most when men in the established profession did not want women lawyers, let alone judges. She had to find her own style to cajole, persuade and unite colleagues when there was no example to follow for the first female Senate Leader in the country.”