Judge Samuel Alito's congressional hearings have come to an end. I had the opportunity to listen to practically the whole thing on CSPAN Radio on XM Radio as I traveled. It was very enlightening. Obviously there was posturing along party lines, which occasionally got ugly. Nevertheless, I learned quite a lot about the inner workings of the Federal Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court.I got the impression that Judge Alito has a very brilliant legal mind, that he leans toward a moderate to conservative judicial and political philosophy, and that he is very committed to following the Constitution first, then Statutes, then Case Law.Most people are interested in whether he would shift the balance of the court. One thing that I've learned is that you never can predict how a nominee will rule during the confirmation process. More later....