All I Have to Say About Alito

I'm glad I've had to work and so have not had the temptation to watch the confirmation hearings. All the Senators are giant windbags, and the Judge has been well coached to not be a Borkian asshole to Specter. Hence, snooze. Until we get some BS about how mean Ted Kennedy was to make the Judge's wife cry. Except that Lindsay Graham made her cry, but here in the all-spin zone, who needs facts when you have truthiness?

Personally, I think the CAP thing is probably no big deal. Or at least it shouldn't be. Hell, I joined the Century Club in college, and I don't remember a damn thing about it. (Of course I wouldn't put it on a job application either. Well, I suppose it depends on the job.) But this Reaganesque "I can't recall" line of answers sure makes it look like he's hiding something, so it's worth a follow-up. Considering that this issue has been out there for 3 months, you'd think Alito would have 'refreshed' his memory. (Or, if I'm being completely cynical, his handlers told him to be evasive, knew Teddy-boy would go all bull-in-a-china-shop on it, and then Graham could make Mrs. Alito cry = political gold.

Why are they so mean? Because the guy is about to be appointed for life, so I think it makes sense to, you know, ask tough, perhaps unpleasant questions up front. Or we can just "trust" the guy who told us that Harriet Miers was the bestest jurist ever - nobody ever ran a state lottery like that gal. (And since lotteries act as a tax on dumb poor people, of course she was a fave...)

A interesting question is why the Dems went with all these half-wits instead of someone who is capable of asking good questions. Who might that guy be? Barack Obama of course:

can you imagine how much Democrats would benefit from having Barack Obama--a Harvard Law School graduate, remember--in that chair instead? Especially when the topic turns to the Concerned Alumni of Princeton. (It wouldn't hurt Obama's national ambitions at all, either.) It's like leaving your Rookie of the Year player on the bench for the World Series. Another missed opportunity for Democrats.

Finally, for anyone interested in what was actually said, save some time and check out Bill's Shorter Senator and Sammy posts.

Update: This nonsense about Alito's wife being reduced to tears is ludicrous, as I commented elsewhere today:

I don't think I've ever been more disappointed by the lack of sense possessed by the American public than from this inane concern about whether this woman cried. First of all, CAP is an issue. It should have been a small one, but a non-denial denial makes it look like he's hiding something when I'm 99.9% sure he isn't. Second, did his family expect the Senators to roll over and ask for a belly-rub? Third, how the hell is her crying relevant to anything in the known universe? Does it have any bearing on Alito's fitness for the bench?

But since we live in a culture where asking hard questions is "partisanship" I guess this is the worst thing that's happened since Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction.

Update #2: For absolutely final thoughts on the matter, see here.