WP: Despite Advocacy, Nominee Not on Public's Radar Screen

[kskiska]

Until Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) gaveled the confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to order yesterday, the battle over Alito's nomination has been a shouting match between partisans. Whether it ever engages the public now depends on the effectiveness of Alito and his Democratic interrogators.

To the advocates on both sides, the battle is described in drastic terms. "Judge," said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), "this may be one of the most significant or consequential nominations that the Senate will vote on since I've been here in the last three decades."

Earlier in the day, an e-mail fundraising appeal went out from a prominent conservative under the heading "The nomination of Judge Samuel Alito is in serious trouble" -- though few believe that is the case.

(snip)

But on this nomination, as with Roberts's, there has been a clear disconnect between the zeal of activists and the detachment of the general public. Tim Hibbits, an Oregon-based pollster, said the Alito nomination falls low on the public's list of priorities. "With the exception of highly energized base voters, it's not something that's engaged people," he said.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/09/AR2006010901650.html

[Gloria]

1. WTF DOES engage people?? A Happy Meal????

So glad I've decided not to follow all this too closely...I can't bear any of it anymore, from either side.