by Matt Barr

The Roberts hearings.

Yes, I know about the baseball analogy, and that Judge Roberts supposedly "dodged" Roe v. Wade questions, and that Sen. Kennedy got insufferable. So do you. Though you find some good, original stuff on the Supreme Court here, the Roberts hearings represent two things I avoid writing about if I can. One is things everyone else is writing about. Another is things that seem intensely important, probably because everyone's writing about them, but which so aren't. Dahlia Lithwick says just about everything I would say, only better:

Whereas Biden and Patrick Leahy made at least some effort to develop lines of questioning, Herb Kohl and Dianne Feinstein give up entirely. Knowing there will be no Perry Mason moment—there won't even be a Lionel Hutz moment—they dully read their questions from a script and avoid the follow-up altogether. "Oh, so you aren't opposed to environmental protection? OK. Let's move on." The hunters have become the hunted. The lion is draped across a chaise longue, picking his teeth with their arguments....

It is an immutable rule of nature that every sadist needs a masochist, every leader needs a follower, and every addict needs an enabler. So, too, every egomaniac needs someone humble, and that's why, in the end, these hearings are so perfectly matched. Roberts wants to say little and literally fade to black. The senators want to give speeches and seize the limelight. It's a match made in heaven. It's just the watching it that's hell.

Because I'm very interested in what kind of Chief Roberts is likely to be, as are you, probably, if you visit here semi-regualrly, I'm going over transcripts and reports trying to catch something interesting and original. I'll post it if I find it.

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