SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

NO MORE NO NEWS DAYS – It appears that the no-news news cycle is over.  The FBI has completed its probe into Judge Kavanaugh, the Dems are already whining that it went on for less than a decade, Majority Leader McConnell has invoked cloture, and a vote on the nomination by the full Senate is probable for Sunday.  Then we'll know.  I have to believe that McConnell has the votes, but that is only a belief.  I haven't seen a true tabulation on the battery-powered calculator.

THE REPORT –  Senators will start reading the FBI report tomorrow (Thursday) morning.  Apparently, few copies will actually exist and senators will read them in a secure area.   All we are getting right now are vague leaks about the contents, and we cannot check their accuracy.  I do fear that Democrats will distort what is there, knowing that the people and the press have no way to correct what is said.  That job will be done by Republicans, if at all.

THE HOLDOUTS – Unless there is a surprise somewhere, the nomination will be decided by four or five holdouts.  Republican holdouts are Jeff Flake of Arizona, an unstable character who believes he thinks deep thoughts; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; and Susan Collins of Maine.  Collins, who generally returns to the Republican tent after making some noises, could affect the votes of the other two.  Among the Democrats, Joe Manchin of strongly pro-Trump West Virginia is still out, as is Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who is badly behind in a re-election race is a very pro-Kavanaugh state.  There may be a few other persuadables.   Republican eccentric Ben Sasse of Nebraska could also emerge as a wild card.  When McConnell's cloture resolution is actually voted on for approval this Friday, we will probably get an indication of how the finalconfirmation vote will go.  If cloture is approved by the Senate, debate would then be cut off after 30 hours, and the Senate could render a final nomination vote on Sunday. 

THE PRESIDENT – As usual, President Trump did more harm than good by publicly mocking Professor Ford in a speech.  He was roundly criticized, even by Republicans.  Lindsey Graham advised the president, correctly, to stay out of it.

THE ACCUSER – How sad.  I feel, as others do, that Professor Ford has been manipulated and used as a tool by the Democrats.  Her lawyer, Debra Katz (no relation to me, I hope) is a party activist.  Ford would have been better off with a competent lawyer with no political motivation.  Now Katz is complaining that Ford wasn't interviewed during this week's FBI extended background check on Judge Kavanaugh.  That's a bit deceptive.   Ford gave hours of testimony, and would only be interviewed if she could answer questions the FBI felt needed to be asked.

THE PUBLIC – There appears to be a groundswell of support for Judge Kavanaugh, based largely on the question of how he's been treated.  No matter how the vote goes, the president could start calling the upcoming midterms the "Kavanaugh election." 

October 3, 2018