For Supreme Court nominees, it's only sensible to say nothing

Supreme Court confirmation hearings are nothing but a charade. "Balls and strikes" is what John Roberts said he'd call. Sonia Sotomayor, no fool she, said the same. Elena Kagan, ditto, is going to be a neutral arbiter. She isn't a "progressive." She will be fair and open.

Of course. She'd be crazy to say otherwise.

Once upon a time, back when she wasn't sitting at the table, Kagan suggested that prospective justices should try to outline their constitutional views at the confirmation hearings. Senators might learn more about who they were voting for. The watching public might learn something, period.

Not a chance. Now senators pretend to "learn" something by reading memos the would-be justice wrote nearly three decades ago as a law clerk. Would-be justices spend three days forgetting everything they learned about judicial decision-making in law school and since, claiming that values have nothing to do with it; neutrality is the watchword. It's not an educational experience for anyone. It's a game of "gotcha," and the way you don't get gotten is, basically, to say nothing.