John – You may be right, though I don’t think we can underestimate the panic on the left and the political incentives (going into ‘06 and ‘08) for Senators to play to the base. That said, the wiretapping stuff, last I checked, is quite popular in the United States. It’s not clear to me that harassing Alito for a policy he is not responsible for that many Americans support is the best course for the Senators. The legal and constitutional questions are, on the merits, a softball for someone like Alito and the politics may work in his favor.