Judge John Roberts’ performance is a tour de force. It seems to me that he is setting an extremely high standard for the next nominee. He is so comfortable with constitutional intricacies, he’s unflappable, and serious, but likeable and quick-witted. Getting elected to the Senate is easy compared to what a gifted lawyer like John Roberts has accomplished. I can only imagine how much some of these Senators would have hated him had they been law school classmates. Surely the lesson is that when merit is paramount in picking a nominee it pays off.
It is certainly true that Joe Biden is one of the nicest members of the Senate in the opinion of many GOP aides. A testament to his decency given all the eye-rolling that invariably accompanies his longwinded pronouncements.