Getting Over Alito

The Samuel Alito hearings are over--but some Democrats were left wanting more. Things went badly from the start: few Americans watched, and those who did saw Alito and his supporters calmly parrying suggestions that as a Supreme Court Justice, he would threaten America's balance of power, civil liberties and citizens' right to privacy. "He's rope-a-doping them," said a frustrated Democratic aide. Any points the Dems scored were erased by Alito's wife Martha-Ann, who broke down in tears as the questioning of her husband grew increasingly personal. Her emotional reaction sealed her husband's victory--but the Dems had other reasons to fight on.

Although Senate minority leader Harry Reid and other moderate Democrats would like to refocus on the more politically profitable work of bashing President Bush and the Republicans on Iraq and corruption, liberals including Ted Kennedy hope to delay the Judiciary Committee vote on Alito. That would give advocacy groups time to target Alito via TV ads, petitions and phone banks. "They want some additional time to beat the drums in opposition," says an aide.

Defeating Alito seems unlikely. The best Dems can hope to do, the aide says, is highlight wedge issues that can be used against weak Republicans in November. Still, the liberal lobby is talking tough. "We've just begun to fight," says Ralph Neas of People for the American Way.

If anything, such words encourage G.O.P.ers. Emboldened by the expectation that Alito's victory is secure, they are happy to drag out the debate an extra week. Doing so may produce a bonus by moving a vote confirming Alito closer to the State of the Union address on Jan. 31, allowing the President to showcase his win.