Have The Dems Given Up on Roberts?

The Washington Post seems to think so:

Democrats have decided that unless there is an unexpected development in the weeks ahead, they will not launch a major fight to block the Supreme Court nomination of John G. Roberts Jr., according to legislators, Senate aides and party strategists.

In a series of interviews in recent days, more than a dozen Democratic senators and aides who are intimately involved in deliberations about strategy said that they see no evidence that most Democratic senators are prepared to expend political capital in what is widely seen as a futile effort to derail the nomination.

Although they expect to subject President Bush's nominee to tough questioning at confirmation hearings next month, members of the minority party said they do not plan to marshal any concerted campaign against Roberts because they have concluded that he is likely to get at least 70 votes -- enough to overrule parliamentary tactics such as a filibuster that could block the nominee.

"No one's planning all-out warfare," said a Senate Democratic aide closely involved in caucus strategy on Roberts. For now, the aide said, Democratic strategy is to make it clear Roberts is subject to fair scrutiny while avoiding a pointless conflagration that could backfire on the party. "We're going to come out of this looking dignified and will show we took the constitutional process seriously," the aide said.

"This was a smart political choice from the White House," said one prominent Democratic lawmaker, who like several others interviewed for this article requested anonymity because they were departing from the Democrats' public position. "I don't think people see a close vote here."

I'm sorry, but I'm not buying that...at least not yet. It sounds a little too much like a rope-a-dope strategy to me. I'm sure they'd love to get the GOP nice and complacent, and then jump on them with both feet.

I still think there will be a big battle during the confirmation hearings. Every day some new "revelation" comes out about Roberts past writings, each of which tends to wind up the opposition just a little tighter. The big story today is that Roberts supported school prayer and once referred to the "abortion tragedy". That stuff is kryptonite to the wacky left.

I think the Senate Dems will have to put on a good show for their special interest supporters, and will at least make it look like they're trying to get Roberts. It probably won't work, and in fact will probably backfire since Roberts is sure to come off as a calm, cool professional and not the wild-eyed nutcase as described by the left.