Two quick points:

1. We wouldn’t be having this fight if we didn’t think it was winnable. There is nothing inevitable about Arlen Specter chairing the Judiciary Committee in the next Senate.

2. Having said that, losing this fight is much better than not having had it at all. Like a baseball manager who kicks dirt on an umpire’s pants, the objective isn’t necessarily to have the last call reversed but to have the next call go your way.