AFTERMATH – It has been one of the most exhausting journalistic days that I've seen in recent years, maybe the most exhausting.  I've gotten a number of emails from readers saying they are emotionally spent.  In the morning our side lost hope when Professor Christine Ford gave a credible, essentially dignified presentation of her charges against Judge Kavanaugh, while Republicans surrendered the field and barely responded or challenged anything that was alleged. 

And yet, that flipped quickly in the afternoon when Judge Kavanaugh himself took the witness chair and fairly roared his reply to Professor Ford.  We had a voice, and I sometimes felt he was not only defending himself, but leading the Republican Party.  At the end of the day, I think most of us believed we had a good shot at defending the judge.

It was also a day when Lindsey Graham became a great United States senator, in a memorable, powerful statement denouncing the unfairness of the entire process that had been hurled at Judge Kavanaugh.

The latest:  The Senate Judiciary still has a vote scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow (Friday) morning.  The Democrats are solidly against the judge.  The Republicans are almost solidly in favor.   Retiring Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona still will not commit.  His vote is needed to give Judge Kavanaugh a positive committee recommendation to the entire Senate.  However, please note that a negative vote in committee does not kill the nomination.  The full Senate can take it up anyway and vote either to confirm or reject.

Senator Bob Corker, retiring Republican from Tennessee, has announced he will vote in favor of Kavanaugh.  Senator Doug Jones, the new Democratic senator from Alabama, has announced that he will oppose.  That may cost Jones, who is filling out the term of Jeff Sessions, who left the Senate to become attorney general.  Jones must run for a full term in 2020, in a very conservative state.  I don't understand why he's voting against Judge Kavanaugh. 

There are indications that Dem Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia will vote yes, but there are no hints from any other Democrats that they will defect to our side.  The big questions surround Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.  If they decide for Kavanaugh, the judge may be a safe bet for confirmation.  If they decide against him, the outcome may be more uncertain.   

Get up early.  Committee vote is next.

WELL, WELL, WELL, WHAT A SURPRISE! – AT 8:05 P.M. ET:  My great fear was that Brett Kavanaugh would be weak and accommodating in his testimony today.  He was not.  Clark Kent had gone into the booth and come out as Superjudge.  He was tough, he was blunt, he was impassioned, and he put on a take-no-prisoners defense that stunned the room, and reportedly thrilled the White House. 

He did not try to knock down Professor Ford's claim that she'd been sexually assaulted.  He put on a detailed, persuasive denial that he was the perpetrator.  He also went full blast at the Democrats on the committee, charging them with turning the confirmation process into a national disgrace.  I've never seen senators attacked that way by a nominee.  Of course, they've all announced they would vote against him anyway. They deserved what they got. 

Kavanaugh's emotionally charged presentation was just what was needed to bring Republicans on the Judiciary Committee alive.  Bringing Republicans alive is sometimes biologically impossible, so this was a major event.  And the star was Lindsey Graham, who tore into the Democrats the same way that Joseph Welch, back in 1954, tore into Joe McCarthy.  He shamed them for what they had done to Judge Kavanaugh and his family. 

The entire atmosphere of the hearing changed with Judge Kavanaugh's make-or-break performance.  Republican pessimism turned to optimism.  The president signaled his immense pleasure.  The momentum is with the judge, but I caution that, in this tumultuous contest, things can change quickly.  A committee vote on the nomination is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  If Kavanaugh clears the committe, a vote would soon follow in the full Senate. 

DULL – AT 2:30 P.M. ET:  We haven't published yet today because I'm watching the very disappointing Kavanaugh hearings, and will report in detail later, after Judge Kavanaugh testifies.

I say "disappointing" because the appearance of Professor Christine Ford was anticlimactic.  As one commentator noted, she added nothing to her story.  The chosen Republican questioner, Rachel Mitchell, a sex-crimes prosecutor from Arizona, was entirely too soft and sympathetic, and rarely got to any relevant issues.  The Republican senators were meek, apparently afraid to go after Ford and appear to be attacking a woman.

Ford herself was dignified and "credible," whatever that word means in these circumstances.  Some say Mitchell didn't lay a glove on her, but whatever glove Mitchell was wearing was too padded to do any damage.

A very frustrating session.  It is up to Brett Kavanaugh to defend himself.  He did poorly in a Fox interview earlier this week, coming off as weak and lackluster.  That must not happen again this afternoon.

Stand by.   

September 27, 2018