On Day 3, Judge Gorsuch ‘The Very Image Of A Thoughtful Jurist’

“Federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch appeared headed for eventual confirmation to the Supreme Court on Wednesday … Gorsuch's steady performance through two grueling days of testimony lent an air of inevitability to the process…” (“Neil Gorsuch Sails Through Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing, USA Today, 3/22/2017)

• “As the third day of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch concludes… the judge completed another step towards joining the high court by making it through Wednesday's hearing unscathed.” (“Highlights From Day 3 of the Neil Gorsuch Hearings,” U.S. News & World Report, 3/22/17)

• “…Gorsuch generally is seen to be handling the exhaustive hearings with deft answers and a measured temperament …” (“Partisan Tensions Flare In Final Stretch Of Gorsuch Hearings,” Fox News, 3/22/2017)

“For each issue, Gorsuch, 49, had a ready answer. … [H]is comments … kept him on track to winning confirmation from the … Senate and securing a lifetime position on the nation’s highest court.” (“Gorsuch Pressed on Abortion as He Moves Toward High Court Seat,” Bloomberg Politics, 3/22/2017)

RON KLAIN, Former Vice President Biden’s Chief Of Staff And Former Clerk To Justice Byron White: “Judge Gorsuch proved what everyone knew: that he is smart, charming and an adept lawyer.” (“Hugh Hewitt And Ronald Klain: Have The Gorsuch Hearings Hurt Democrats?,” The Washington Post, 3/22/2017)

THE DETROIT NEWS: “After two days of … hearings, Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is proving himself an even-tempered, deeply knowledgeable nominee who should be confirmed by the Senate.” (Editorial, “Gorsuch Turns Back Democratic Attacks,” The Detroit News, 3/21/2017)

• “Gorsuch is coming across in the hearings as the very image of a thoughtful jurist. He’s displayed an impressive depth of knowledge, and admirable patience. And he’s carefully followed past practice of judicial nominees in refusing to say how he’d rule on specific issues. Democratic committee members have not been able to rattle him or walk him onto land mine. The hearings confirm that Gorsuch is [eminently] qualified, and there is nothing radical in his judicial history.” (Editorial, “Gorsuch Turns Back Democratic Attacks,” The Detroit News, 3/21/2017)

CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “In this week's Senate confirmation hearings, Gorsuch has shown himself to be committed to the principle that judges should rule on the law as written, and apply it equally to all. … Democrats' questioning Tuesday and Wednesday was aggressive. But their attempts to trip up Gorsuch, revealing deficiencies that might disqualify him, elicited the opposite: unassailable assurances by Gorsuch that he would decide each case on the merits, based on the law as written, applied to the world as it is today. Democrats struggled to find offense with that judicial philosophy.” (Editorial, “Neil Gorsuch Earns His Supreme Court Seat,” Chicago Tribune, 3/22/17)

• “Some of Gorsuch's critics think judges should be creative and expansive depending on the political climate — to treat laws differently on a cold night than a warm one. Those critics suggest that they fear Gorsuch won't follow the law, but the opposite is more true: They fear he will. Gorsuch should be confirmed.” (Editorial, “Neil Gorsuch Earns His Supreme Court Seat,” Chicago Tribune, 3/22/17)

MSNBC’S WILLIE GEIST: “There may be some philosophical differences that a lot of Democrats had in there but in terms of character, in terms of professionalism, integrity, there wasn’t, I would argue, anything, or hardly anything, there to criticize Gorsuch on.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 3/22/2017)

HOWARD KURTZ, Fox News: “Gorsuch aces his hearing… Whatever you think of his record, Gorsuch put on a clinic in how to testify without losing your cool.” (“Unscathed: Gorsuch Aces His Hearing, 'Doesn't Give A Whit About Politics,'” Fox News, 3/22/17)