We'll reserve judgment on whether the man the president selected Monday to undo his Harriet Miers mistake will make a good Supreme Court justice.
But at least this time, the leader of the minority party, Sen. Harry Reid, didn't appear smiling with his arm around new nominee Samuel Alito, as he did with Ms. Miers.
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That's a hopeful sign.
Instead, Sen. Reid went into hyperliberal attack mode, calling Judge Alito potentially "too radical for the American people" and chiding the president for not selecting a Hispanic. (How about Miguel Estrada, Sen. Reid? Would he do?) Left-wing Democrats Charles Schumer and Teddy Kennedy issued their own stinging rebukes.
Apparently, the planets are again properly aligned.
Despite Democratic hysteria, the nominee's credentials are impeccable.
Judge Alito, who attended Princeton and Yale, was nominated to the federal bench by the first President Bush in 1990 -- and the Senate unanimously gave its consent. For the past 15 years he has been a member of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Philadelphia. Prior to his time on the bench, Judge Alito was the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Reagan administration, and an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general.
He has argued a dozen cases before the high court.
"The Supreme Court is an institution I have long held in reverence," Judge Alito said Monday. "During my 29 years as a public servant, I've had an opportunity to view the Supreme Court from a variety of perspectives."
He also spoke of the "limited role the courts play in our constitutional system," perhaps foreshadowing his opposition to liberal judicial activism.
But it bears mentioning that it is folly to predict the performance of a Supreme Court justice based on some perceived notion of his political philosophy. Of the four liberals on the current court, two were nominated by Republican presidents. In 1953, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower tapped Earl Warren, who turned out to be one of the most liberal high court justices in history.
If Judge Alito is confirmed, history will determine whether he proved an ardent defender of the freedoms and liberties articulated in the Constitution and of the restrictions on state power inherent in our nation's founding document. The same goes for Mr. Bush's other nominee, John Roberts, who was elevated to the Supreme Court in September.
But barring some unforeseen development, there is no reason at this point why the Senate should not confirm Judge Alito as Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement.
