DEFLATION ON THE LEFT: There's something manic about the opposition to John Roberts, as if the Court-as-legislature activists are doing their best not to come to terms with evidence that they're not going to be successful in defining the terms of the confirmation battle. People for the American Way have tacked in the direction of demonizing Roberts' supporters:

The Radical Right is overjoyed by the nomination of John Roberts...That ought to sound alarm bells for everyone who believes that the Supreme Court must protect the basic rights and legal protections that the far-right is eager to dismantle.

Signs of this strategy are all over the place. Yesterday C-SPAN covered a press conference at which the leaders of NOW made clear they intended to "activate their base" to defeat the right-win friends of the Roberts nomination — as if the influence of hardcore feminists somehow extends beyond the offices of the most liberal senators.