Jim Inhofe: “I have been observing this all night long and all of these legal scholars. I admire you so much, although I have to…”

“I have been observing this all night long and all of these legal scholars. I admire you so much, although I have to admit I have often said that perhaps one of my best qualifications for being a Senator is that I am not a lawyer. When I read the Constitution, I know what it says. It is very clear what it says. It says advise and consent. It is a very important process. The reason I wanted the Senator to yield is you have been justly talking about the qualities of Miguel Estrada. I have met him, too. He is such a humble man. When you hear the horrible things said about him, it makes you cry inside. There was one thing that all of these nominees the President nominated have in common, and that is they are also eminently qualified. You have talked about his qualifications. Besides that, he worked in both the Bush and Clinton administrations. Also, look at the rest of the nominees. William Pryor is the youngest attorney general at the time he was appointed and was nominated by the President. He has the highest ranking of the American Bar Association. Priscilla Owen has the highest ranking of the ABA. In 2000, she won 84 percent of the vote. She was supported by three former Democrat judges from the Texas Supreme Court. Judge Pickering--99.5 percent of his cases were affirmed and not appealed. I think we are talking about people who the President has done such a great job of singling out and finding, the most highly qualified people.”