The groups want certain questions asked of Roberts to lay a predicate for future nominees. Unless there's a revelation we can't fathom, this will be the meat of the hearings.

Boehner should not start putting pictures on the wall and hanging drapes. This could be a very temporary job if the Republicans lose in November.

Usually, a candidate has to nail down the base and move to the centre after the nomination, ... She has the flexibility because she has so much affection from the base.

It's almost like Bush is running for reelection with peace and prosperity.

[In Bush's case,] the change is more in aesthetics and less in substance, ... Perhaps [Bush] accepts a larger role for government than some conservatives, but that has been a transformation within conservative circles as well.

Just on grounds of being evasive, he will probably get a core of Democrats who will vote against him. But his nomination is not imperiled by any means.