"Senator, I take responsibility for that," the nominee replied.

[dajoki]

WP

Fealty to President and Precedent

By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, May 10, 2006; Page A02

Sen. John Cornyn, Republican from the state of Truculence, was spoiling for a fight.

Before yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing into White House aide Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to be an appellate judge, Cornyn's staff distributed an opening statement that sought to light a match beneath the culture wars.

"There are some in this country who have views that are so liberal they have no chance to persuade the American people to accept them," the Texan's statement said. "There are some who want to end traditional marriage between only one man and one woman. There are some who want to continue the barbaric practice of partial birth abortion. There are some who even want to abolish the Pledge of Allegiance."

But yesterday provided none of the sparks Cornyn and his GOP colleagues on the committee had hoped for. Democrats steered away from social issues that might inflame Republican voters, quizzing Kavanaugh instead about the Bush administration's torture policies and White House ties to the Jack Abramoff scandal. And Kavanaugh had nothing to say about same-sex marriage, abortion, the pledge -- or, for that matter, pretty much anything else.

Kavanaugh, rubbing his hands together nervously and jiggling his leg, proved elusive even on such simple matters as why it took him so long to respond to the committee's questions after his first hearing two years ago. "Why did you take seven months?" asked Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/09/AR2006050901518.html?referrer=email

[TomInTib]

1. That article is one of the weirdest reads I've seen in a while.

Jeebus

[dajoki]

2. Sure is

Kavanaugh, rubbing his hands together nervously and jiggling his leg, proved elusive even on such simple matters as why it took him so long to respond to the committee's questions after his first hearing two years ago. "Why did you take seven months?" asked Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat.

[pacalo]

3. Is this administration on crack?

Get this exchange:

"Why did you take seven months?" asked Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat.

"Senator, I take responsibility for that," the nominee replied.

"Why did you take seven months?" Leahy repeated.

"Senator, again, I take responsibility for that."

"The question isn't responsibility," Leahy pressed. "Why seven months?"

"Senator, there was --," Kavanaugh began, and then he caught himself. "I take responsibility for that. There was a misunderstanding, and it was my responsibility."

Leahy was digging in. "What was the misunderstanding?"

"Senator, I take responsibility." The room was filling with laughter.

"I asked you why."

Finally, Kavanaugh said he thought the answers were not expected because the committee wasn't ready to act on his nomination. "It appears I had a misunderstanding," he said once again. "I take responsibility for that."

And this one:

Asked by Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) to introduce his 8-month-old daughter and the rest of his family, Kavanaugh responded by saying, "I'm grateful to the president for nominating me."

"There's a question pending," Specter reminded Kavanaugh, directing him again to introduce the family.

And it's disturbing that this judicial nominee gives the impression that he will be working for Bush:

"I've worked closely with the president and the senior staff at the White House," he said. "I think I've earned the trust of the president. I've earned the trust of the senior staff."

[dajoki]

4. very disturbing n/t

[Jacobin]

5. Holy crap

"He uses his close relationship with the pretzledent as a badge of honor to be part of one of the three independent branches of government?

WTF is he smoking?

[dajoki]

8. answer above n/t

[Bucky]

6. Too dumb too improvise, he'd been prepped to answer that question one way

And he stuck to his guns. No wonder he has the president's trust. He has the president's brain! After the third grilling on the same item, he needs to figure out that his pat answer isn't putting anybody off. Geeze Louise. Mostly the president nominates people to conservative to be judges. But every now and then they up and pick someone just too damned stoopid to be a judge.

[KeepItReal]

7. That MoFo took Seven MONTHS to answer questions?

No wonder they were laughing at his azz