Jack Reed: “I think you are being overly generous. I like to believe if the nominee was of the quality to serve on the Federal bench…”

“I think you are being overly generous. I like to believe if the nominee was of the quality to serve on the Federal bench as a circuit judge, he or she would be approved, which is the rule that applies so far to 168 of the nominees of President Bush. I do say quite sincerely that, indeed, if someone was nominated by a President who did not measure up to those standards, the 168 judges who have been affirmed, they would not be voted in because they lack ability, skill, or judicial temperament, or the other criteria, and they would be opposed. Again, the record suggests that in dealing with President Bush's nominees, 168 have been confirmed. I suspect all of them are more conservative than any nominee suggested by President Clinton. All of them are individuals who, had a Democratic President been in office, would not have been nominated. That is the nature of the nomination process. Nonetheless, they were confirmed. Now, the last 2 days of a legislative session, with a change of power, et cetera, that introduces a unique aspect.”