Hearings on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh are set to begin in early September, so expect several rounds of breathless revelations about the man’s past. Consider an AP story this week headlined “At Yale, Kavanaugh Stayed Out of Debates at a Time of Many.” The story’s lead: “It was the 1980s at Yale University, and Brett Kavanaugh’s classmates were protesting South Africa’s apartheid system, rallying for gay rights and backing dining hall workers in a labor dispute. But friends and acquaintances say the future Supreme Court nominee seemed more interested in battles on the basketball court than politically charged debates.” (Reading between the lines: AP must have called countless “friends and acquaintances” looking for something—anything—and come up with bupkis.)
The substance of the report is that Kavanaugh at Yale was a thoughtful and kind young man who didn’t take himself too seriously, but obviously the AP couldn’t make that the story. Hence that headline and lead: While other Yalies were expressing deep concern over racism and homophobia and unfair labor laws, Brett was off somewhere playing basketball. Aha! He may not have done those things which he ought not to have done, as the prayer book has it, but he hath left undone those things which he ought to have done. Nailed him!
We choose a slightly different interpretation, namely that Kavanaugh spent his years at Yale quietly doing his work and had neither the time nor the inclination to go around acting like a sanctimonious jackass. In short: Confirm this man at the earliest possible date.
