Sam Alito knows how to juggle. Seriously, the man can juggle balls, and he's proving his ability to tediously juggle loose answers around Democrats' tough questions. He's a classic Supreme Court justice nominee.
The man will be confirmed, in my opinion, but not without his fair share of opposition-party hazing. Democrats are citing two big issues during Alito's third-day of confirmation hearings.
First, they are not stoked about Alito's stance on abortion. Whereas John Roberts called Roe v. Wade the "settled law of the land," Alito is open to reviewing the case, stating, "I would approach the question with an open mind and I would listen to the arguments that were made." While most Democrats want to see the Roe v. Wade upheld, they should be more realistic. Any W.-appointed nominee will be open to at least reviewing the case, and any decent judge should be open to reviewing cases, if new, substantial evidence can be presented. Women and minorities would have fewer rights today if the Supreme Court didn't review cases regularly.
Second, Alito drew conflict-of-interest accusations three years ago after he upheld a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit against the Vanguard Group. Alito had hundreds of thousands of dollars invested with the mutual fund company at the time. Conflicts of interests are about as severe a crime as jaywalking in D.C. for politicians, but Supreme Court justices should be held to a higher standard.
I hope to hear your opinions about Alito. I'll cook up some more fresh commentary as the confirmation hearings continue.