Ante Up: The Supreme Court Poker Tournament

Bonnie compares the back and forth between Sonia Sotomayor and her Senate questioners to the airy give-and-take of a Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire dance. But it's not ballroom dance -- or musicals like those mentioned by Melinda and Mary -- that I've been thinking about; it's poker.

Observe the senators as they shuffle their cards -- some choosing easy friendliness and others taking a more aggressive line -- as they try to get Sotomayor to reveal exactly what she's holding. Can Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) raise the stakes with a mere mention of firefighter Frank Ricci, a central figure in a reverse-discrimination suit? Can Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) snare Sotomayor into throwing a repeat of the "wise Latina" quote into the Senate pot? (He couldn't, by the way; Sotomayor stoically checked and the senator backed off.)

But one of the better players has to be Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). His last surprise hand revealed a switch from Republican to Democrat. What's he holding this time? Could it be one of those "activist judge" cards that senators keep trying to slip in the deck? Wrong again!

On Wednesday, the senator expressed concern about a case the Supreme Court didn't take. It involved President Bush obtaining wiretaps without informing either the House or Senate intelligence committees or the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

SPECTER: Wouldn't you agree that the Supreme Court should have taken that kind of a major conflict on separation of powers?

SOTOMAYOR: I know it must be very frustrating to you to . . .

SPECTER: It sure is. I was the chairman who wasn't notified.

Well played, Senator.