The nomination fight over Judge Sonia Sotomayor moves into a new phase this week, as she starts meetings Tuesday with Senate leaders and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Those who helped White House efforts on Supreme Court nominations often say these face-to-face meetings are maybe the most important part of the nomination effort - even though they look more like they are 'for show.'

Some Democrats last week were publicly urging the White House to have Judge Sotomayor use these meetings to address some of the issues that have given ammunition to critics opposed to her nomination.

But that was before President Obama went ahead and did it himself in an interview with NBC News, saying that he was "sure" that Sotomayor would restate her 2001 "Latina woman" comment.

"I think that when she's appearing before the Senate committee, in her confirmation process, I think all this nonsense that is being spewed out will be revealed for what it is," Mr. Obama told Brian Williams.

One could have seen a Senator emerging after a sit down with Sotomayor to say that they talked about her comment that a Latina woman can make better judgments than a White man, but to have the President do it himself, that told me they were getting a bit worried inside the White House.

We'll see whether or not it succeeds in knocking down this story, or if it continues to fester in the weeks ahead until Sotomayor's confirmation hearings begin.

Sotomayor will also return to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week the questionnaire that was given to the Judge, covering a range of issues.

We'll see how good her handlers are with the way they deal with those questions.  Goof ups now can mean furrowed brows later.

Already on the schedule this week are Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, the Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, and the top two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chairman Patrick Leahy and Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on that panel.

I doubt you will hear many words out of Sotomayor - maybe none - in the photo opportunities with Senators.

If you put yourself in the shoes of any White House on a high profile nomination like this, the mantra would be, the less the nominee says - the better.  Let them speak during the confirmation hearings, in a more structured environment.

But just in case the Judge decides to go off message in coming days, my colleagues and I will be swarming the hallways and office buildings on the Senate side of the Capitol, checking to see if there's any confirmation blood in the water.