Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

It is my duty as a self-admitted political junkie to keep up with the Roberts confirmation hearings. But man is it hard...Listening to the bloviating Senators (both parties) who love the sound of their own voices and make statements disguised as questions (Biden went nine minutes yesterday before allowing Roberts to speak--and then interrupted him!) is just about too much to take.

And the worst thing about it all is that it's completely meaningless--at least as far as the voting goes. There is a better possibility of me being named a starting NFL quarterback than there is of a single Senator changing his (or her in Feinstein's case) mind about Roberts. The vote has been 10-8 ever since Bush nominated him, and nothing that's said or done during this process is going to change that.

I know there's positioning going on for the O'Connor seat yet to be filled and all that, but the truth is....

That vote's going to be 10-8 too! And unless the Democrats can hold 5 votes to sustain a filibuster, the "Justice to be named later" is going to be confirmed just like Roberts.