Judicial excellence requires candor before confirmation. We are being asked to give the nominee enormous power.

Over the course of more than 200 years, it has found a right to equal education regardless of race. It has guaranteed an attorney and a fair trial to all Americans, rich and poor alike. It has allowed women to keep private medical decisions private. And it has allowed Americans to speak, vote and worship without interference from their government.

As all of us with any involvement in sports knows, no two umpires or no two referees have the same strike zone or call the same kind of a basketball game

We need to fight the plague of the uninsured the way we have fought other threats to our way of life and our basic values.

We need to take steps to strengthen and mend Social Security so that its promise of a secure retirement is just as real for seniors in the future as it is today.

The judicial branch has, in its finest hours, stood firmly on the side of individuals against those who would trample their rights.

I will vote my hopes and not my fears