- Choose a nominee who knows his/her stuff. Both Roberts and Alito had photographic memories when it came to constitutional law and were more than a match for any or all of the Senate Dems.
- Charm is good, but if you don't have that, at least be non-threatening. John Roberts basically charmed the committee during the hearings. Alito didn't have the charm, but did have a non-threatening personality which made him very hard to demonize. Robert Bork had neither, and that's one of the reasons he was easy to defeat.
- Stay calm. Neither Roberts nor Alito took the bait when the Dem bullies tried to get them to lose control and lash back. A calm, reasoned response from the nominee makes him look like the sane member of the conversation, as the Dems found out this week.
- Answer questions without answering them. When Alito was asked about certain cases, he described the technical process of coming to a decision without actually revealing how he'd vote. Brilliant. It left the Dems stammering and blunted an attack the "he didn't answer our questions".
- Although it didn't happen much in this hearing, I saw a suggestion yesterday that I thought was very smart. When a Dem goes off on one of these 10 minute lectures disguised as a question and finally comes to the part where the nominee gets to respond, every now and then simply ask the Senator to repeat the question. He won't be able to, of course, and if nothing else, the stenographer will have to read it back which will both suck up the questioner's time and further reveal the twisted logic that the Senator used to frame his question.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
The Strategies for Future Nominees is Clear
There is a high likelihood that President Bush will get one or possibly even two more nominations to the Supreme Court before he leaves office. The Roberts and Alito hearings have been very instructive as to how to proceed with future nominees. Here's what they need to remember for the next time:
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