Senator Kennedy saved us from "Justice Bork."

For that alone I expect Saint Peter to have high-fived Teddy as he passed through the pearly gates.

Our current VP. Joe Biden chaired the judiciary committee for those hearings. I've always felt that the way he ran the hearings allowed Bork to hang himself.

I had an understanding boss at the time, and both of us listened to every moment of the hearings on PBS radio. Bork damned himself with his own words. Some of the things that came out of his mouth made my blood run cold.

For example, he had ruled that a company could forbid women from working in a dangerous-to-fetuses part of the plant (where the money was better, of course) unless they agreed to be sterlized. When asked about that, he said, "I thought they'd be happy to have a job."

Biden handled it all wonderfully. I've had a soft spot in my heart for him ever since.

(I wish I could say the same about the Thomas hearings, but I think by then, the Repigs had learned how to lie and posture better.)

Thomas was a travesty. At least he will never, ever be Chief Justice.

And I believe that his close association keeps Scalia from ever being Chief Justice as well.

Never forget it.