Alito

Another week of deadlines, but I want to say quickly that I'm initially pleased with what I see about Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court.

I'm still learning more about him, but the main source of my pleasure lies in this: there's no question about his qualifications, his intellect or his character — questions that came up so frequently with the Harriet Miers nomination (well, not her character) that there was no hope of debating the bigger picture of the role of a Supreme Court justice. With Alito, we can move past those issues immediately, and get on to discussing his opinions, his "judicial temperament" and his perspective on a Living Constitution.

The side benefit is a front-row seat to watch the meltdowns by Sens. Kennedy, Schumer & Reid.