Alito Blogging - Eye On Day 3

With two days of hearings in the can, Judge Alito's confirmation seems to be moving ahead nicely.

Everyone we met with Tuesday, from Senators on the Judiciary Committee to party officials, from Judge Alito's law clerks to his former classmates, agreed that the nominee was handling the questioning with poise and aplomb.

What struck me most (perhaps because I was semi-nervously watching for its absence) was how aptly ("apt" = the opposite of "inapt", incidentally, Senator Schumer) Alito managed to remain ever-responsive to the questions of his opponents, without falling into the traps they rather inaptly set to goad him into staining the litmus paper.

Whenever a question sought to elicit a prejudgment of a prospective Court matter, rather than stalwartly (though not inappropriately) refusing to comment, Alito was consistently thoughtful, thorough, and respectful in his treatments, giving as much substance as he could, before noting that more specific comment would require analysis of the specifics of any such case.

The vital significance of this aspect of Alito's performance of course draws from the fact that Schumer, Kennedy, Biden and others have pre-declared "refusal to answer" to be grounds for obstruction.  Interestingly, now that Alito has shown a clear aptitude for answering (while not necessarily - as Senators Cornyn and Hatch both noted today - answering the way his opponents might have liked), this trigger language has since shifted.  Before his bombastic half hour in the spotlight tonight, Senator Schumer made the updated statement, "Thus far we know nothing more than we did after [Alito's] opening statement."

Not "Alito is being unresponsive."  Just "We know nothing more."

Well, if the man is answering the questions posed to him and you're not learning anything new, maybe you ought to think about asking some new questions.  Or maybe the abnormally prolonged pre-hearing schedule the Democrats negotiated was sufficient for you to educate yourself comprehensively ahead of time.  Either way, I don't see this new "Where's the bombshell?" complaint being compelling grounds for undue delays in the Judiciary Committee or on the Senate floor.

On that front, I was pleased during our meeting to hear Bill Frist pledge to do everything in his power to keep the committee at work straight through the holiday weekend if necessary to keep the proceedings on track.  Unfortunately, the power to impose a groundless 1-week delay in committee lies in the hands of any single member and Frist seems to suspect that this move could be a precursor to then punting until after the State of the Union address (the presumed purpose being simply to embarrass the President by putting him on stage with Alito's confirmation unexpectedly outstanding).

With the strong performance put up by Judge Alito over the first two days of hearings, I tend to suspect that just such a delay, aiming only to embarrass Bush as he mounts that bulliest pulpit, is about as much of a "win" as committee Democrats can realistically hope for at this point.  That would of course be partisan, petty, and ultimately pointless.  And it's exactly what I predict will happen.

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Meanwhile, I'm chomping at the bit (byte?) for a third day of on-the-scene blogging.  The RNC, the Senate Republican Conference, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and others have been treating us like royalty and serving up insane access to key legislators, senior White House and campaign staff, and other bigwigs.  They've officially set a super duper precedent for all future events.

Wednesday's highlights should include additional access to the confirmation hearing room, as well as meetings with Senators Orrin Hatch, Jon Kyl, Chuck Grassley, and Sam Brownback and another jam-packed scad of special guests.

Stay browsed!

Nostalgic for Day 2?

In the Hall Of the Obstruction King
ZagAlito Survey: Chat With Former Alito Law Clerks
Chat With Judiciary Committee Member Senator Orrin Hatch
Chat With Judiciary Committee Member Senator John Cornyn
Chat With Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
Questions, Questions, Questions
On Replacing O'Connor
Alito Day 2: The Questioning

How about Day 1?

Chat With Beltway Boy Fred Barnes
Chat With White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove
Chat With White House Director of Political Affairs
Chat With Deputy Director of National Economic Council
Alito Hearings Opening Statements
Republican Strategist Briefing
Chat with Ken Mehlman
Confirmation Pre-Game
Showtime
Can I Get a Witness (List)?