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The "Scalito" nickname makes for a fun caricature, but is a bit unfair. Alito is a good judge. His dissent in Casey (an abortion case that eventually went up to the Supremes) made him a darling of the anti-abortion religious right, but just because the right-wing wingnuts like him doesn't mean he's not a worthy nominee.

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As I said, I have no problem adhering to a standard that says 'Qualified? If yes --> Confirm' - but there's too much at stake for that to happen. But yeah, everything I've read about him says he's just a less-ambiguously-conservative version of Roberts, complete with the impressive legal pedigree. He'd have my vote, if I had one; then again, I don't face the pressures that a Senator does, thank goodness. Perhaps I'd think differently if I knew my campaign cash/my chances for the Presidency were highly dependent on this vote.

My "but I'm betting the conservative base will be all riled up for this battle; never a winning proposition for the Democrats, I'm sad to say" was only meant to convey that Democrats don't have a long track record of winning (at least lately) when conservatives get their act together (I sure am sad to say). And I'm betting Democrats won't win this one, either. In a perfect world, we'd nominate the best legal minds and be done with it; and it seems as if, by most indications, Alito is firmly in the realm of this country's best legal minds.