A "See, I Told You So" moment

Well, sorta. Recall in a prior post where I wondered how Senator Tim Johnson, Democrat from cherry-red state South Dakota, would vote on the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, especially in light of SD's eagerness to ban abortion? Johnson is up for re-election in 2008, and he saw in 2004 how his state deals with liberal Democrats: they tossed Tom Dasshole out on his kiester.

Johnson has good political survival skills, it seems. From Breitbart/AP:

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito picked up his second Democratic supporter on Thursday, with Tim Johnson of South Dakota announcing he will vote for the conservative judge to become the nation's 110th justice.
Johnson joins fellow Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska as the only members of their party to announce Senate support for the conservative judge.

Fifty-one Republicans are supporting Alito, guaranteeing his confirmation as the replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who throughout her years on the high court often has been a key fifth vote on contentious social issues including abortion, affirmative action and the death penalty.

"I am troubled by Judge Alito's apparent views on matters such as executive power, his past opposition to the principle of one person, one vote, and his narrow interpretation of certain civil rights laws," Johnson said. "Even so, I cannot accept an argument that his views are so radical that the Senate is justified in denying his confirmation."

Translation: "I've known former Senator Tom Daschle for a while now...and to paraphrase that Texas relic Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, 'I'm no Tom Daschle!' Seriously, I'm not. You do believe me, right? Please?

"I really like this corner office I have in the Senate building. I'm not ready to part with the perks yet! Have you seen my receptionist? She's a hottie! I'm not ready to lose that piece of eye candy yet! Plus, a lobbyist from the AARP is taking me to dinner at a five-star tonight, and I damned sure don't want to lose that kind of privilege!

"Oh, yeah...Alito? He's got my vote!"