Earlier today I had occasion to speak with Ronald Cass, president of Cass & Associates and former Dean of the Boston University Law School. He's been observing the Alito hearings from inside the hearing room, so here are a couple of observations worth passing along:

Cass said there is a noticeable difference in the tone of the Alito hearings vs. the Roberts hearings just a few months ago.  With Roberts there was a sense of excitement - the Hilll hadn't seen a Supreme Court nomination hearing in some eleven years before taking up the Roberts nomination last year - and also more of a legitimately open minded atmosphere before the committee.

Cass said the Alito hearings, on other hand, are total "trench warfare." Votes for both sides were already "in the can" before the gavel came down and there is a distinctly strategic feel to both yesterday's opening statements and today's initial round of questioning. This is about positioning and point scoring, with Republicans working to protect Alito and Democrats spending much of their time characterizing (or, more accurately, mischaracterizing) Alito's record rather than questioning him about specifics or about his judicial philosophy.

As to what lies ahead, Cass thinks the issue of Vanguard was effectively neutralized by Senator Hatch and will probably go away, as will the subject of CAP (Concerned Alumni of Princeton) which he described as a "non-issue." Cass says the focus of the hearings will remain on executive power and abortion and that Alito has done a good job of handling both - so far.