One of the themes of anti-Thomas commentary is that he should have gotten over his anger over his confirmation hearings. After all, he won, and it was 16 years ago.
But it’s not as though he could have left the Anita Hill controversy out of his memoirs, or as though liberals would have praised his generosity of spirit had he done so. And if he was telling the truth back then–which is what my reading of the evidence suggests–then why shouldn’t he be a little bitter? If he’s right, then she participated in an attempt to destroy his reputation and career through lies. The people who complain about his “bitterness,” it seems to me, are really people who think he was lying but want to couch their point in some above-the-fray way.