Check out this Congressional Quarterly piece:

Judicial Nominee Sparks Concerns, but No Flashpoint to Stop Confirmation By Keith Perine, CQ Today 7/25/2006 The Senate is expected to confirm an appellate court nominee Tuesday despite the opposition of liberal activists who fear he is hostile to affirmative action. The confirmation vote suggests that Democrats and Republicans alike are less eager to spark a battle over appellate court nominations than they were last year, before the “Gang of 14” senators struck a deal to avoid a parliamentary showdown over filibusters of judicial nominees. Debate began Monday on the nomination of Jerome A. Holmes to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit and will conclude with the confirmation vote Tuesday. In a June 15 letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and the panel’s ranking Democrat, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, liberal activists, including the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, expressed “grave concerns” about Holmes’ past writings on affirmative action. “[Holmes’] criticism of affirmative action raises serious questions about whether litigants could expect him to rule impartially and fairly on claims that turn on legal principles of affirmative action, and about Mr. Holmes’ approach to anti-discrimination laws more broadly, if he is confirmed,” the activists wrote. That is the kind of rhetoric that surrounded most of the 10 nominations Democrats have filibustered in the 109th Congress. But in the wake of the Gang’s deal last year, senators in both parties have been leery about forcing a new confrontation. Much to the chagrin of some conservative activists, Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has backed away from launching a floor battle over several of Bush’s more contentious nominees, such as 4th Circuit nominee William J. Haynes II. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., defended Holmes in a Senate floor speech on Monday, saying Holmes was being attacked for his views unfairly. “He has heart, he has intellect, and he has integrity,” Coburn said. “That’s what we want.” In addition to Oklahoma, the jurisdiction of the 10th Circuit includes Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and the parts of Yellowstone National Park extending into Montana and Idaho. Democrats briefly attempted to slow consideration of Holmes’ nomination in the Judiciary Committee earlier this month. But Coburn successfully pushed for a committee vote. The panel approved Holmes’ nomination on a voice vote July 13. Holmes, currently an attorney in private practice in Oklahoma, was a federal prosecutor for 11 years.

What’s left out of the piece? Jerome A. Holmes is black. Seems relevant to the story, no? UPDATE: In their confirmation story (see Wednesday’s Bench Memos post on Holmes), CQ mentioned the previously missing fact:

The Senate confirmed appellate court nominee Jerome A. Holmes on Tuesday after a brief debate that included charges of racial insensitivity aimed at the African-American lawyer from Oklahoma.