McCain = Samuel Alito?

McCain is now in a position similar to that a Supreme Court nominee about to go before a hesitant - but not openly hostile - bunch of US Senators. The "Senators" in this case are the voters of Florida and the 22 states that will vote by Feb. 5th. In the parlance of my tortured analogy, the voters of Florida would compose the Judiciary Committee. They get the right to make an initial "recommendation" to the rest of the country. Just like a nominee going before a less-than-hostile Judiciary Committee, McCain is more likely to win that not (or at least more likely than anyone else), but has to seal the deal with a good performance in his "confirmation hearings" (the next ten days). If he gets a positive recommendation, his chances in the confirmation vote on Feb. 5th will be rather good.