"The claims that Alito is a 'far-right activist' are laughable, except to far-left activists."

Stuart Taylor weighs in on the treatment of Samuel Alito. (Via How Appealing.)

He richly deserves the praise that he has received from colleagues and friends across the political spectrum for his powerful mind, intellectual honesty, and fairness.

The American people will figure this out. Any effort to filibuster Alito seems very likely to fail, and likely to backfire against Democrats.

That's what I've been saying too.

Alito will try as hard as anyone -- and far harder than O'Connor -- to be intellectually honest and analytically rigorous, and to keep his political preferences out of his legal rulings. He will therefore disappoint the most passionate political conservatives and horrify many liberals.

The notion of an apolitical justice may seem preposterous to academics and journalists who see judges as politicians in black robes, and view their opinions and citations as camouflage for preconceived ideological agendas. But Alito's opinions show that he takes the ideal of judicial restraint very seriously. Both conservative and liberal colleagues confirm this.

I devoutly hope so.