BRETT KAVANAUGH/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Brett Kavanaugh, still short of votes in the final hours of the most politicized Supreme Court confirmation battle in years, is campaigning until the bitter end. On the eve of a dramatic day in the Senate that could dictate his fate, and with several key Republicans undecided, Kavanaugh attempted damage control in an opinion article in the Wall Street Journal. He appeared to be trying to draw the sting from his explosive testimony last week in which he denied claims that he sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford when they were teenagers in the 1980s. His performance raised concerns that his hyper-partisan style was incompatible with the independence and decorum expected of the nine justices who sit on the nation’s top bench…It was not clear whether Kavanaugh’s unorthodox move was motivated by concern that his nomination was in trouble, or whether it was an early attempt to mitigate the political toll of his confirmation fight in the expectation that he will shortly take a seat on the Supreme Court that could cement a conservative majority for many years.”
–Stephen Collinson, “As vote looms, Kavanaugh makes final argument,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, October 4, 2018 7:42 am