The High-Court Battle That Never Was

WASHINGTON -- The only step left in the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito looks to be the vote, raising the question of what happened to the much anticipated struggle over high-court nominees.

Foremost among a number of forces that drained some electricity from the fight was a bipartisan agreement among a group of 14 mostly centrist senators. That changed the dynamic of judicial debates, moving the Senate decisively away from a confrontation over judicial selections such as the one that paralyzed the chamber in the spring of 2005.

Beyond that, Democrats found that the issue of preserving abortion rights may not have the broad political support they expected. That is reflected in several polls indicating that a majority of Americans don't think a judge's opposition to abortion should block confirmation to the Supreme Court. Republicans, who benefited from two solid performances by high-court nominees in confirmation hearings, averted their biggest potential problem last fall when the administration dropped the troubled nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Miers.

To be sure, the political environment could shift again. But for now, the ability of the Senate and the president to manage three Supreme Court nominations -- for two associate justice vacancies and for chief justice -- and, in all likelihood, win two Senate confirmations in just six months represents the biggest achievement so far of President Bush's second term. If Judge Alito is confirmed in coming days, the president's legacy will include at least two high-court appointments, both of whom could steer the court in the conservative direction sought by the Republican Party's base, particularly its religious activists.

The outcome of the nomination saga also is likely to mute a conflict that played prominently in some 2004 Senate races and threatened to resurface in November's midterm election.

"The public is motivated by what they see in the headlines. If court nominations are no longer in the headlines, this will not be an issue in the fall," says Steven Smith, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

•	The High-Court Battle That Never Was Senators' Pact on Judicial Filibusters Drained Wall Street Journal, Monday, Jan. 16, 2006 Byline: Jeanne Cummings, WSJ Staff Reporter