Judge Alito's colleagues on the Third Circuit testified this afternoon. You can get a sense of the high esteem in which they hold him by checking out NRO's Bench Memos.

One of the witnesses is Judge Timothy Lewis, an African-American, "pro-choice" judge appointed by President Clinton. Judge Lewis testified about Judge Alito's “intellectual honesty,” stating “I cannot recall one instance when Judge Alito displayed anything remotely approaching an ideological bent.” Senator Coburn asked Judge Lewis and his colleague Judge Marianne Trump Barry (also a Clinton appointee) if they had ever seen anything that would lead them to believe Alito would be hostile to the rights of women or minorities. Both testified that they would not even be in this hearing room if they had.

To her credit, Senator Feinstein stayed in the hearing room to hear and question these witnesses. However, she apparently was the only Democratic Senator to do so. I think that's extraordinary.

Extraordinary that Judge Alito's colleagues have turned out to defend him against the Democrats' smears; extraordinary that the Democrats themselves couldn't be bothered to stick around to hear what this distinguished group of judges had to say. After all, if the Democrats were actually interested in what kind of judge Sam Alito is, these are precisely the witnesses who could tell them. If the Democrats really thought that Alito's judicial opinions reflect poorly on him, these are exactly the people who could answer their questions, and, if they are correct, confirm their fears. But the Democrats apparently knew that wasn't going to happen. The only conclusion one can draw is that the Democrats knew they were smearing a fine man and a fine judge. But the fact that they didn't even have the decency or respect to stay and listen to Alito's colleagues is disgusting.

I'm also struck by the fact that none of the news services seem to have taken a picture of the Senate panel, denuded of Democrats during the judges' testimony. When Alito was testifying, there were countless shots of Kennedy, Schumer, Leahy, et al.; now, mysteriously, there are no pictures of the Senators. If one turns up later, post it; for now, here is a photo, courtesy of Reuters, of the bipartisan group of judges who showed up to testify to their colleague's skills and integrity. Too bad the Democrats weren't there to hear them: