Alito, diversion

As Atrios says, it matters. However, press attention for the Alito hearings have pushed the relevant misdeeds of the president and congress from the front page of all major news websites.

Also, the focus on abortion rights, an issue on which everyone pretty much knows where Alito stands, has sidelined deeper concerns about Alito's opinions on privacy and presidential powers, which are probably more salient right now. Abortion can't be sold to the Senate Republicans as a reason to reject Alito, but his pro-executive leanings should give them pause, if that argument were well articulated. It isn't, though.