Senator Specter's questions aren't exactly identical to the 80-plus that I've asked of Judge Roberts, but the spirit of asking them and the need for a response is the same.
Why this room should be some kind of cone of silence is beyond me, ... It seems to me this is something of an argument of convenience. Senator Specter said it well, you can answer as many questions as you can to get confirmed ... that's not the right thing to do.
The echoes of then-Judge Thomas's empty reassurances that he was a mainstream jurist are ringing in the ears of every senator who listened to many nearly identical statements from Judge Roberts last week,
This particular choice is more troubling than the others because Senator Ashcroft is more far over to the right on his views,