Writing his debut piece for Salon, Walter Shapiro has a preview of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings. After some background on Alito -- including news on his lifelong love for the Philadelphia Phillies -- Shapiro quotes Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), who has voted on 22 Supreme Court nominees during his career, on Alito's chances. "All these nominees basically win it or lose it themselves. That's been my experience on the committee."
Shapiro concludes: "The betting line still favors Alito, especially since it is unclear whether the Senate Democrats are willing to risk their recent political gains with a filibuster. But remember that when Alito was an impressionable teenager in 1964, his favorite baseball team lost 10 games at the end of the season to blow a pennant that was theirs for the asking."
The New York Times sums up the big difference between these hearings and those for Judge John Roberts last fall. "Judge Roberts replaced Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, meaning that his nomination was a one-for-one, conservative-for-conservative swap. If Judge Alito is confirmed, he will replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, whose vote was often the fulcrum on which the Rehnquist court's decisions turned."
Meanwhile, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds tha majority of Americans -- 53% -- favor Alito's confirmation. This is "virtually identical to the proportion that supported John Roberts' confirmation as chief justice four months ago."
