Alito : Two Nominee Strategies. One Worked.~

The New York Times ^ | January 31, 2006 | DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 — The week before his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. e-mailed the text of his opening statement to the White House. It included very little about his legal thinking, dwelled at length on his family and opened with a tired and rambling joke about courtroom banter between a lawyer and a judge.

The response from the White House: "Perfect, don't change a word," according to an administration official who was granted anonymity because Judge Alito's preparation sessions were confidential.

As the last obstacles to confirmation faded away Monday, Democratic aides said their party had initially expected Judge Alito to live up to his reputation as "Scalito," suggesting a conservative firebrand in the mold of Justice Antonin Scalia. Failing to adjust to his meekness, Democratic aides admit they searched too hard for scandal in Judge Alito's past.

The White House, meanwhile, sought to take advantage of Judge Alito's low-key, almost shy demeanor to build sympathy for him. They say they succeeded beyond all expectations when Judge Alito's wife, Martha-Ann, walked out in tears from his confirmation hearings.

"Any time they are yelling, preaching, lecturing, and you are cool and calm and breathing deep, you are winning," the administration official said the White House team told Judge Alito. "What that means on television sets where the American people are watching this is, you look good and they look bad. It was the central operating premise."

Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senator Harry Reid

of Nevada, the Democratic leader, agreed. "It was a classic rope-a-dope," Mr. Manley said, referring to the boxing tactic of leaning against the ropes to let an opponent exhaust himself punching.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

Wife noted that also, said his aids went from bewildered confusion, to the most angry looking people she ever saw.

[MEG33]

http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004412.htm

video and more here.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I'll look at all that tomorrow....nite all!

[billhilly]

"We Won...They Lost!!!"

With this one, they keep on losing, as long as the Justice lives.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Reading the angst in this NY Slimes "report", I experienced a deep sense of schadenfreude.

[Recovering_Democrat]

I would have preferred "Slug the Thug".

LOL!

[hershey]

The NYTimes and libs don't get it. Judge Alito was a great candidate. That's why he's being confirmed, not because Mrs. Alito was driven to tears. The NYTimes, Kennedy, and Kerry look like idiots. Hat Trick! (A little hockey lingo.)

[muir_redwoods]

""What that means on television sets where the American people are watching this is, you look good and they look bad. It was the central operating premise."

So, you mean, our guys are smarter than the guys on the other side? Wow, who would have thought a simpleton like our president could have outsmarted the Left?

Again!

[xkaydet65]

P;ease don't insult a great John Ford movie and a greater Frank O'Connor book by associating either with the Chappaquidick car service.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Good point.

[mware]

I watched Tddy diatribe from my classroom.(No, my students were not there)

I thought the old boy was going to pop a blood vessel in his head.

[CFC__VRWC]

The Slimes can belittle Alito all they want---it will never change the fact that he is now a justice on the SCOTUS.

It's all they've got left. They will slam him and demonize him for his entire time on the SCOTUS bench, just like they do with Clarence Thomas.

[Condor51]

***Help me remember . . .does the Constitution say that there HAS to be 9 justices? ***

No not in the Constitution

One Supreme Court
The Convention left up to Congress decision on the size and composition of the Supreme Court, the time and place for sitting, its internal organization, save for the reference to the Chief Justice in the impeachment provision, and other matters. These details Congress filled up in the Judiciary Act of 1789, one of the seminal statutes of the United States. By the Act, the Court was made to consist of a Chief Justice and five Associate Justices. The number was gradually increased until it reached a total of ten under the act of March 3, 1863. As one of the Reconstruction Congress' restrictions on President Andrew Johnson, the number was reduced to seven as vacancies should occur. The number actually never fell below eight before the end of Johnson's term, and Congress there upon made the number nine.

[jveritas]

LOL... good one.

[LibertyLee]

(D)umbozoS

[Galveston Grl]

I love the secret sources stuff. It give the NYT's the license to say anything they want to say.

As for Alito, the liberals operate under a stereotype of what they think a conservative is and they created their strategy to defeat the stereotype. That is they created a plan to defeat a sexist, racist, hater, Nazi and what they confronted was a man more decent than any liberal could possibly foresee in a political enemy. In the end they looked like the hating Nazis. Could not ask for more. Thanks Judge Alito.

[upchuck]

Thank you. That really means a lot. Many of the MSM sites take several minutes to DL @ 56K.

[upchuck]

LOL! I struggled for awhile in the late 70's with a 300 baud acoustic coupler. Talk about sloooooow.

[phoenix0468]

Glad I could help.

[DougJ]

It just goes to show we had a PLAN. Exactly. Do you think sometimes that liberals seem almost proud of their own disorganization and incompetence?