ouring rain didn't stop several dozen demonstrators from gathering outside the Supreme Court shortly before the Justices heard the most important abortion case to come their way in eight years. In better weather, there might have been hundreds of them; but these were the die-hards: pro-lifers playing gospel music and displaying gross-out photos of aborted babies, and pro-choicers marching with their NOW-regulation, blue-circle "Keep Abortion Legal" placards.

Inside, Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg argued what may be the most significant case of his career — defending his state's law, passed three years ago, banning partial-birth abortions. Stenberg, a Republican, has appeared in front of the Justices twice before, winning each time. But neither of those cases — capital ones, and fairly technical — attracted more than a sliver of attention compared to this, which carries his name: Stenberg v. Carhart.

The case has added meaning for Stenberg, because he is currently running for the GOP nomination to take on former Democratic governor Ben Nelson for the seat of retiring senator Bob Kerrey. It has allowed him to pursue the closest thing a state attorney general has to a Rose Garden strategy. He's held no fundraising events since April 7, and has kept campaigning to a minimum — ostensibly to review thousands of pages of trial records, briefs, and opinions. The primary date is exactly two weeks away; a March poll showed Stenberg leading a field of opponents, but trailing Nelson in a general-election match-up.

Stenberg exudes a colorless competence. He flew to Washington, D.C., on Easter Sunday and, by his account, has done virtually nothing but focus on the task before him. He won't even admit to watching a ball game late at night when he's unwinding in his Capitol Hill hotel room, or to planning to wear a lucky tie. But he does know the case through and through — a quality that served him well in this morning's oral arguments. Barely a minute into his presentation, Justice Ginsburg, who all but announced her intention to rule against the Nebraska ban, began to pepper him with hostile questions. Justices Souter and Stevens quickly jumped in with their own challenges. With Justice Breyer, they form the Court's pro-abortion core.

All eyes were on Justice O'Connor, who is considered the key vote in the case. At one point, she called abortion procedures, including one that's legal in Nebraska, "gruesome." But she also showed concern that the Nebraska law could be broadly construed to ban more common abortion techniques than partial-birth and that it doesn't allow for "health of the mother" exceptions. Justice Kennedy, also viewed as a swing vote, spoke less, and mainly questioned the lawyer representing Nebraska abortionist Leroy Carhart.

"No matter how the Court decides, the battle for abortion will go on," says Stenberg. Yet the outcome may also elevate abortion as a campaign issue in the fall, and not just in Nebraska; 30 states have passed partial-birth abortion bans, and so has Congress. But Stenberg says he isn't thinking about any of that: "The best way to do it is do your homework and then make your argument."

In a few weeks, the Court will announce its opinion — or, perhaps more precisely, Sandra Day O'Connor will announce hers. Nebraska Republicans will have announced an opinion of their own by then. When they do, Don Stenberg hopes they will appreciate what he tried to do today.