Over at Confirm Them, I lament the Judge Henry Saad’s withdrawal as a nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Over the past couple of years, I got to know Judge Saad. I can honestly say I have rarely a met a finer man, or a man more deserving of confirmation. But he got screwed, plain and simple, by shameful, obstructionist Democrats and Republicans who were content to sit by and watch while a good and honorable man became the victim of the worst kind of political character assasination. Every member of the Senate, regardless of party, ought to be ashamed.

Dan Dalthorp has more at Confirm Them. And there’s a wealth of discussion at Bench Memos.

Jim: Okay, here’s something I don’t understand. In two straight fights over Supreme Court nominees, the Democrats have had their tushies handed to them on a platter. In both fights, they geared up and charged into the arena, confident that their mightiest weapon, the “far-right and out of the mainstream” label, would vanquish the nominee before them.

And both times, they swung at the nominee and…

CLANK! Their weapon snapped in two. Turns out their once-mighty trusted tool got rusty in the years since the Bork and Thomas fights. The public’s view of the court, and the media’s coverage of nominees, changed greatly since the early 1990s and 1980s.

So why has this dynamic not manifested itself in lower court nomination fights?

 In related news, the White House is reportedly exploring an option where Judge Saad can “sub in” for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she feels like a nap during oral arguments.