John Cornyn: “The Senator has talked about Miguel Estrada and his admirable qualities, the fact he emigrated here as a young man at…”

“The Senator has talked about Miguel Estrada and his admirable qualities, the fact he emigrated here as a young man at 17, barely spoke the English language, and yet rose to the top of his profession and, indeed, represented the United States Government before the highest Court in the land in 15 cases, which is a remarkable professional accomplishment. But you also alluded to the comments made by our colleague from New York, and you gave us some quotes about the nature of President Bush's judicial nominees. I believe at another time he accused the President of loading up the judiciary with rightwingers who want to turn the clock back to the 1890s and warning that America is under attack from the hard right, the mean people. They have the sort of patina of philosophy, but underneath it is meanness, selfishness, and narrowmindedness. If I may ask the Senator, how in the world can you reconcile the public record of Miguel Estrada and this sort of characterization? Do you have an explanation for what is happening here?”