Legacies of Confirmation

I watched the hearings of the Senate Judiciary Committee to the bitter end. I had also watched the earlier confirmation hearings concerning Judge Clarence Thomas’ qualifications to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

After all of the spectacle, we still do not know whether Judge Thomas or Prof. (Anita) Hill was lying, although it is likely that many people have reached their own conclusions. After the initial hearings, I felt the judge was barely qualified. After the recent hearings, I did not know what to believe but decided that if one accepts that the charges have merit, we identify a single case more than 10 years old in which there is no evidence of repetition or a current pattern.

Two decent, intelligent people have been put through a process that will forever cloud their reputations. Although I detest his charges of racism, I understand Judge Thomas’ indignation. I also detest the attacks on Prof. Hill’s character.

We were exposed to the procedures of representatives of what members like to call “the world’s greatest deliberative body.” They performed their duties while displaying very human traits. I believe they met their obligations in a situation that must have been personally distasteful to each of them.

I see two legacies from this sad episode. One is that people all over America may have a heightened awareness of the difficult situations some women may face in the workplace. The other, less good, is that additional partisanship may make good men reluctant to accept a nomination to high office, and governing will be more difficult at a time when cooperation of good men is required to solve major problems.

RAY BRACY

Tustin