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Youth is served

Wearing rugged jeans, a smoky gray sweater and sporting an indigo Nike cap (worn backwards of course), 22-year-old Nathan Christensen sits quietly in the back row of 216 Hart taking it all in. The Provo, Utah native, who is an intern on the House Ways and Means Committee, says he could have spent his day off anywhere -- but wouldn't miss this for the world.

"An opportunity like this rarely presents itself," says Christensen, who is a senior at Brigham Young University. "I can watch sports anytime."

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'Wanna get away?'

Have you seen the airline commercial that shows actors (thanks to their own carelessness or mischief) suffering through painfully embarrassing moments (like looking through the medicine cabinet in a neighbor's bathroom only to have the shelves come crashing down on the floor below) with the tag line, "Wanna get away?"

Even if you haven't, you will appreciate this red-face moment. Fewer than three minutes after Senator Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., complained the time clock was obscured (preventing him from seeing how much or how little time he had left to question Judge Alito), a photographer who was blocking the senator's view accidentally knocked the clock off its pedestal. 

The loud thud didn't appear to throw off Judge Alito, but the glares in the room were steely, not to mention plentiful. Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., gave Sen. Kennedy an extra two minutes for his session, which drew polite applause from the other committee members.

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What you don't see on TV

Nothing fills a room on Capitol Hill faster than hot lights and television cameras.  So it should come as no surprise that Hart 216 filled up quickly before today's Senate Confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Samuel Alito.

With two-dozen photographers seated in the "pit" just below the members of the Senate's Judiciary Committee, the hearing began promptly at 9:30 this morning.

From Judge Alito's seat (I am behind him and over his left shoulder) you can see a red LCD clock- an odd ornament in a room filled with warm wood tones, massive slabs of marble and such rich history. The running time on the clock counts down from 30 minutes (the allotted time for each senator today). And while that doesn't seem like a long time, it can be a mental marathon for someone trying to remember past written opinions, Constitutional precedents and judicial relevance pertaining to today's hot political issues.

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First impressions

Sporting a neat but modest suit, crisp white shirt and tie that could best be described as poinsettia-red, Judge Samuel Alito stood proudly and acknowledged well wishers -- both among the assembled politicos and his own family -- before the hearing began at Noon ET.

The opening statements of each of the assembled senators is lasting 10 minutes. Reflecting a tension in the room that underscores the stakes (both political and judicial), those in attendance listen closely to the words of each speaker. 

Most interesting, Judge Alito hasn't shown any outward expression during some of the more pointed criticism. He watches each speaker and seems to patiently absorb each word.

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