11.   Also absent, for the second Supreme Court confirmation hearing in a row, was the scent of war.

12.   And he displayed decidely mainstream views of the tax code at his confirmation hearings.

13.   And any candidate will inevitably be asked about them during Senate confirmation hearings, or perhaps even before.

14.   And as the Democrats assume leadership of the Senate, the White House argued that a confirmation hearing should be scheduled for him.

15.   And Kerry campaign aides note that Scalia did not take a clear position in his confirmation hearings on the abortion issue.

16.   And there is the milquetoast of the confirmation hearings, prepped to within an inch of his life to make him more palatable.

17.   Arminio Fraga, president-designate of the central bank, has been having acrimonious confirmation hearings in Brasilia.

18.   As a senator from Missouri, Ashcroft also opposed the suit, although during his confirmation hearings he remained neutral on the issue.

19.   As chairman he can refuse to schedule a confirmation hearing on a nomination.

20.   Asked whether the reputation of the Senate was harmed when a Republican governor could not get a confirmation hearing, Lott issued a flat denial.