A simple, spontaneous act by Martha-Ann Bomgardner Alito overshadowed Ted Kennedy's hysterics and everything else that occured yesterday to lead the news, and put the committee Democrats on the defensive.

Even the affable Eva Braun of the Today Show was grim-faced as she confronted Joe Biden with the question of whether the Democrats had gone too far. BIden, with his usual political tone-deafness, just launched into this "the nominee isn't answering the questions" bit (which really means that the committee Democrats are not getting the answers they would like to have...).

There is an interesting lesson in politics here. Unless you're a lawyer or an amateur wth some interest in the legal process, large parts of this hearing are incomprehensible. What anyone can understand those is the emotional response of a wife to having her husband smeared as a bigot.

I noticed this morning that Ted Kennedy was rushing through his questioning, pretty much conceding that he was done. He reserved a good portion of his time to create a rather self-serving review of what had occured during the hearing.

Orrin Hatch seems to have grasped something of the dynamic and kept things very simple and understandable, explaining the Vanguard issue in terms that most people could understand very easily--its a mutual fund, Judge Alito does not participate in the management of the fund (which is why judges invest overwhelmingly in mutual funds), and that when, some 12 years after being confirmed, Alito received a case that involved Vanguard, he recused himself, even though he conceivably had some justification not to.

Joe Biden, who just deepens my conviction of his incompetency everytime he opens his mouth, quite clearly learned nothing for the overnight effect of a crying woman. He questioning remained obscure, technical and impossible to answer, which I suppose was what he was going for. This Sunday, he can go on camera and once again claim that Alito didn't answer his questions. What was his question? Can the president unilaterally and legally go to war without the consent of Congress? He might as well have asked if God exists or not.

Apparently, Biden believes that the committee hearings on the qualifications and suitability of a nominee, should instead be about a philosophical and legal discussion about the great questions of the day.

"Nominees now, Democrat and Republican nominees, come before the United States Congress and resolve not to let the people know what they think about the important issues," such as a president's authority to go to war, said Biden.

As the committee headed into its fourth day of hearings on the Alito nomination, Biden told NBC's "Today" show that a better solution might be to skip hearings and send nominations straight to the Senate floor for a vote.

"Just go to the Senate floor and debate the nominee's statements," the Delaware senator said, "instead of this game."

The irony of course is that Biden is the one playing games here. Perhaps he should instead consider resigning for the committee and finding something else to do.

This thing is done, and the committee vote next week will probably go right down party lines, which was what was going to happen anyways.

Daily Kos: Tears were staged. Clearly a matter of projection here. Staging tears is not below the author's scruples and naturally he assumes that everyone else is as cynically manipulative as he is.

Soxblog: Biden chortles as Mrs. Alito weeps.