Ed has taken the lead in assessing his own earlier predictions. So while we’re at it, here’s what I said on October 31, the day Samuel Alito was nominated:

1. There will be no filibuster attempt. If Harry Reid doesn’t quash the idea himself, he will be persuaded to do so by his own caucus.

2. A significant number of Democratic senators who announced themselves “very concerned” about Alito’s presumptive views on “a woman’s right to choose” and other matters will nevertheless vote for him in the end.

3. No more than one or two Republican senators will vote against him.

4. Arlen Specter will not be one of those opposed.

5. The final vote in favor of Alito will be more than 60 senators, possibly more than 65.

Doesn’t look like I did so well. I nailed 3 and 4, but those were the easiest. I thought there’d be more than 60 votes for Justice Alito (I like the way those two words sound together!), but there were only 58. On number 2, I was badly wrong. Democrats by and large voted what they may fondly call their convictions; I hope they’re happy with them. As for number 1, I give myself partial credit. There was a filibuster attempt, and cloture was needed to end debate, but it wasn’t much of an attempt, and it had no support from Reid and the leadership. Looks like I might get . . . a D as a prognosticator. That would be about average for the predictive powers of political scientists in general. Amazing Kreskins we ain’t.