CNN anchors wondered: “How dignified could [a filibuster] be?” and “Will [Alito] get the fair vote that the president has been asking for?”

Written by Simon Maloy

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On CNN, anchor Miles O'Brien suggested that a Senate filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. would not be “dignified”; anchor Wolf Blitzer wondered if Alito will “get the fair vote the president has been asking for.”

In covering the Senate Judiciary Committee's confirmation hearings regarding Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s Supreme Court nomination, CNN anchor Miles O'Brien commented: “And the Senate, of course, is a dignified place, but there's also talk about a filibuster. So how dignified could that be?” Later, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer asked: “Will the Supreme Court nominee get the fair vote that the president has been asking for?”

From the January 9 edition of CNN's American Morning:

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, you talked to [ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee] Senator Patrick Leahy [D-VT]. And “dignified,” I believe, was one of the terms that came up there.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN (CNN anchor): Right.

MILES O'BRIEN: And the Senate, of course, is a dignified place, but there's also talk about a filibuster. So how dignified could that be?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We'll see what happens. That's ahead this morning on American Morning. We're back in just a moment.

Later, Blitzer introduced CNN's live coverage of the hearings, asking: “Will [Alito] get the fair vote that the president has been asking for?”

BLITZER: Happening now, our special coverage of Samuel Alito's confirmation hearings. It's almost high noon in the Senate hearing room here in Washington. The showdown over Judge Alito is about to begin. Will the Supreme Court nominee get the fair vote the president is asking for? This hour, senators give their first hints at how tough the questioning will be.