The World Needs More Ninjas

So, President Bush decided to be serious about the Supreme Court nomination this time and nominate someone with quite an impressive resume. That would be Samuel Alito. There’s no doubt that he far exceeds any minimum threshold for qualifications to be on the Court. It seems to me that his ideology is within the bounds of what can reasonably be expected given the results of the past few elections (i.e., he’s not beyond Scalia on the right or Ginsburg on the left, both of whom received over 95 votes in being confirmed by the Senate).

My guess is that after much wailing and gnashing of the teeth, Democrats will let Alito will be confirmed with 60-65 votes (provided there are no skeletons in the closet). The reason I don’t expect a filibuster is: to what end? Behind closed doors, I think that they realize there were any number of conservative hack jobs that Bush could have sent up (i.e., those with a much less impressive intellect, less pleasant temperament, and/or more extreme philosophies) and Alito isn’t one of them. If they block Alito, I highly doubt Bush would pick someone significantly more moderate. In the end, confirmation despite a lot sound and fury and the political world can move past its six month preoccupation with the Supreme Court.