Day 1 Alito Summary

From what Tim Grieve reports over at Salon's War Room, doesn't look like it was a slam-dunk of a day:

Samuel Alito may well be confirmed by the U.S. Senate -- for what it's worth, we say he cruises through with more than 60 votes in favor of confirmation -- but it won't be because he charmed the pants off of anyone during his confirmation hearing.

Day One has just ended, and it wasn't exactly scintillating. Early in the day, we thought Alito looked like he was pained by all the pontificating going on around him. Now we're beginning to wonder if he wasn't just bored. Not that the nominee helped matters any. When the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee finally stopped talking and it came time for Alito to speak, the man who is supposed to be bringing "a lot of class" to the Supreme Court came off like somebody the Rotary Club of Trenton, N.J., probably wouldn't invite back for a second appearance.

Like any good luncheon speaker, Alito began with a joke. At least, it was supposed to be a joke. In Alito's telling, it became more of a lesson in how not to tell a joke. Short version: Judge asks lawyer how he came to be standing before the Supreme Court, lawyer says, "I took the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad." Long version: If he hadn't been sitting for a few hours already, Alito would probably still be telling it.

Alito then moved -- like John G. Roberts, without notes, but unlike John G. Roberts, without much grace or wit -- to the other points he wanted to make: He learned a lot from his parents and the good, common-sense folks in the town where he grew up; he understands that a practicing attorney works for his clients but that a judge "can't have an agenda"; he thinks it's important for judges to keep an open mind; and he was serious when he took his oath of office as an appellate judge 15 years ago, and he'd be serious if he gets to take the oath again as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said early in the proceedings that judicial nominees answer just as many questions as they think they need to answer in order to get confirmed. If the same sort of math applies to opening statements, Alito must figure that he doesn't have to say much of anything to win a seat on the Supreme Court. Either that, or the "murder board" team that has prepped Alito for this hearing -- worried that the nominee might lose his cool under tough questioning -- has smothered any spark of life out of the man.

As Alito finished his speech and made his way out of the hearing room, it was hard to spot many of those back-slapping, "job well done" smiles you usually see at the conclusion of these things. Maybe that's because Alito hadn't done all that well. Or maybe it was because the people who were watching him knew that they have at least two more days of this ahead of them.

Speaking of the "murder board," this doesn't sound on the up-and-up to me (via the Wall Street Journal; emphasis mine):

In preparation for his confirmation hearings, which start Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Alito has been drilling regularly since Thanksgiving in questioning sessions lasting around 30 minutes at the Justice Department, with two department lawyers doing the questioning. On Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the "gang of 14" who sits on Judiciary, joined a so-called moot court session at the White House.

WTF is a man who's going to vote on Alito doing at a moot court session?

But far as the likelihood of confirmation, it looks like there's no groundswell of anti-Alito sentiment, according to the latest WaPo/ABC poll:

A majority of Americans favor the confirmation of federal appeals court judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court and an even larger proportion believe Alito would not vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 high court ruling that legalized abortion, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

As hearings begin today in the Senate on his nomination, the survey found that 53 percent of the public says Alito should be confirmed to serve on the court--virtually identical to the proportion that supported John Roberts' confirmation as chief justice four months ago. One in four--27 percent--say Alito should be rejected by the Senate.

[...]

The survey also found that most Americans expect Alito, if confirmed, would not vote to strike down Roe v. Wade. In the weeks since he was appointed by Bush, abortion rights advocates have grown increasingly vocal in their opposition to Alito. They fear he may be the fifth and decisive vote on the court to overturn Roe--a decision that would instantly inflame national debate over an issue that already is one of the most divisive in American politics.

Instead, the survey suggests that the public expects Alito to follow a middle course on the court.

According to the poll, 38 percent predict Alito will vote on abortion issues in ways that do not significantly alter Roe. Another 26 percent said they expect Alito to favor greater restrictions on abortion but not to strike down the ruling. Slightly fewer than one in five--18 percent--say they believe he would vote to overturn the decision.

[UPDATE - 5:45 PST] ThinkProgress addresses Lindsey Grahams potential ethical infraction, noted above:

Coaching a judicial nominee behind-the-scenes is not the proper role for a Judiciary Committee member who must subsequently sit in judgment on that nominee. Indeed, it could be a violation of the ethical duties of a senator. Here’s what Senate Rule 37 (Conflicts of Interest) in the Senate Ethics Manual says:

“No Member, officer, or employee shall engage in any outside business or professional activity or employment for compensation which is inconsistent or in conflict with the conscientious performance of official duties.’’ … The Committee has interpreted this paragraph to prohibit compensated employment or uncompensated positions on boards, commissions, or advisory councils where such service could create a conflict with an individual’s Senate duties due to appropriation, oversight, authorization, or legislative jurisdiction as a result of Senate duties.

Having sat in on a “moot court session at the White House,” it has created at least the appearance that Graham is a partisan advocate — not an impartial evaluator — of an issue (Alito) within his legislative jurisdiction.