Sunday Morning Talk Show Roundup

I'll mainly just focus on that at least a couple of our representatives still seem like they can do their jobs, as exhibited on this morning's Sunday morning political talk show circuit. In spite of my expressed disenchantment towards our nation's political state, seeing Senators Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on the Sunday morning shows (which I finally got up the nerve to watch after about a year or so of a personal viewing moratorium) was comforting. Both expressed that they want to know what informs John Roberts' legal judgment and Leahy pointed out that information presented in the hearing is crucial in his decision on whether to confirm Roberts, thus information should be thorough.

I believe one of them also pointed out that conservative groups seem to be gaga over Roberts, a marked contrast to their knee-jerk antipathy towards the prospective nomination of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. So whomever pointed that out (Durbin or Leahy, that is) said, what do these conservative groups know about Roberts that I don't know? What do they like about him? Durbin pointed out that Clinton had flat out asked Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) who would have a smooth enough time getting confirmed in the Senate around the time that he nominated Ruth Bader Ginsburg to the court, something Bush didn't do for his nomination. Durbin said he had offered a suggestion on a nominee, though he joked that the fact that the suggestion came from him probably ended up limiting that person's chances. (I can only wonder whether his suggested nominee was the judge for whom I'm interning, as he did mention her as a good candidate for the court, along with one of her colleagues!)

Anyway, if nothing else, it is encouraging to see that these two senators want to carry out a thorough confirmation hearing. One humorous thing: when George Stephanopoulous pointed out on his show "This Week" that Roberts is affable and seems to be a good family man, Leahy quipped something to the effect that "I'm sure he loves his kids" and "he probably played sandlot baseball." The point being that whether or not he is a nice enough guy in his personal life, that's not really what we're examining regarding his appointment to the court.