The nomination of a judicial powerhouse turned George Bush's bad patch of October into an early Christmas present. Not only was every section of the president's coalition cheering, but liberal interest groups, left-wing bloggers, and Democratic Senators reacted with such over-the-top rhetoric as to reduce the intellectual credibility of their O'Connor-seat defense.

Before the opening of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, officials prepped for a typical Beltway circus. Capitol Hill police roamed in a uniformed cluster, set to quell clashes between packs of protesters. Meanwhile, Senate staffers braced for the crowds they thought would jockey for seats inside the hearing room and set up a high-volume queue in a public park half a block away.

The U.S. Supreme Court, after ducking Ten Commandments cases for 25 years and refusing earlier this month to dive into the controversy over former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's monument in Montgomery, agreed last week to consider disputes over Ten Commandments displays on government property in Texas and Kentucky.