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.

The best moment of the president's Oct. 31 announcement of his nominee came when he said that while Judge Alito was certainly thinking of his 90-year-old retired public school teacher mom, he was also no doubt thinking of his late father, who had immigrated to the United States as a child. Thus, the president noted, had the Alito family lived the American dream, a continually recurring display of this country's opportunity.

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