Carrying on with Lebell's post, the constitution gives the president the right of nomination and the senate is given the right of consent. The check and balance, if you will.
The hearing committee vets the nominee, and a simple majority in approval sends the nominee before the senate for confirmation. This is by no means a slam dunk. As we saw today, Harriet Miers had such wide opposition that she chose to withdraw and didn't even make it to committee hearings. John Roberts, on the other hand, was immenently qualified and sailed through the committee and senate confirmation.
On the third hand
, was the Clarence Thomas nomination. He was not qualified for the position according to the ABA, and had some nasty sexual harrassment charges brought against him at the time. Pro wrestling would be considered tame in comparison. None-the-less, he now sits on the court.
Where's the confusion, Ben?
