So let’s assume that Senator McCain did, in fact, say that he would look for a judicial nominee like John Roberts rather than like Samuel Alito, in the interests of confirmability. Is that really such a terrible mindset for a Republican president to have? Alito won confirmation with 58 votes, and there were six more Republican senators then than there are now. There could be fewer Republican senators next time. A Roberts would be more confirmable than an Alito, and another Roberts on the Court would be very, very helpful. It’s not as though Roberts has been much worse than Alito on the Court.