I’m busy working on my book, so I haven’t done any reporting to get on top of the question I’m about to pose. Alito seems to be marginally more willing than Roberts to talk to senators about his thinking on Roe. My question: Does that volubility reflect his inclinations, or a strategy on his or the White House’s part? And if it’s a strategy, what’s the strategy? Is the theory that many liberals have proven that relatively meaningless words about respect for precedent will satisfy them, while conservatives have shown that they don’t worry too much about those words, and that therefore more of them should be produced? Or is it that Alito needs to go further to reassure pro-choicers given that it’s the second vacancy, that Miers withdrew partly because of pro-life unease with her, and that public opinion has moved in a pro-choice direction for the moment? There may, of course, be a possibility I’m missing.