Also on Ensign and Kagan …

On March 19, 2009,  when the Senate confirmed Elena Kagan to become U.S. Solicitor General by a 61-31 margin,  seven senators missed the vote.

One of them was Sen. John Ensign.

The vote was held at 5 p.m. on a Thursday, and the Senate was not in session the next day. Hmmm.... did someone skip out early for the weekend?

Ensign's spokeswoman Jennifer Cooper said she checked with Ensign, and he remembers being on the way to the airport to catch a flight to Las Vegas when the vote was called, "and it was too late for him to turn around."

However, at 9:30 that morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid laid out the day's schedule, giving senators notice that a vote on Kagan "could occur in the 4:30 to 6 p.m. range."

Had Ensign voted, he would have sided against Kagan, Cooper said.

"He was concerned about her limited litigation experience and her ability to set aside personal bias and uphold the written word of the Constitution,” Cooper said.  

Earlier today, Ensign said he would scrutinize Kagan's qualifications to become a Supreme Court justice, although it would seem she would have a tough time turning him around.