The night after Election Day, 2004, I was sitting in a swanky restaurant in New York City with two friends. They are married, both "masters of the universe" types but great people. The husband was formerly the head of M&A for North America at a large, well-known investment bank and the wife was the head of investor relations at a similar type of firm.

The husband was a marginal Bush supporter and had just spent a week in Ohio working "on things" for the Bush campaign due to family connections and expectations. The wife was not even slightly a Kerry fan, but was against Bush for one reason: Supreme Court picks; the chance the Bush was going to have to influence our country for the next 30 years. We were not the only people in America having that conversation on that night.

The 30 million folks (yes, that's three-zero million!) who are in the National Association of Evangelicals were no doubt rubbing their hands with anticipatory glee. And a few other conservatives were doing the same. And in many other places, other people were and shaking their heads with dread or gloom on the same topic: The Supreme Court.

So why the uproar now? It's not like any of this should remotely be a surprise. This will be the "crowning achievement" of the Bush Administration, and they said it was coming, and now it is upon us. For anyone who doesn't like it, but didn't vote: shame, shame.

Both Roberts and Alito are enormously intelligent, gracious, and composed. I have never seen Supreme Court nominees who have shown more poise or who have been more articulate. But make no mistake; these guys will be the turning point, whether it's in two years, five, or ten. Roe v Wade will be overturned. I will happily eat my words if I am wrong.

Roberts saying Roe v. Wade is "settled law" is not comforting to me...a nominee could have said the same thing for any of the 58 years it took to overturn Plessy v. Ferguson with Brown v. Board of Education. "Settled Law" means "settled for now." And Alito wouldn't even say that Roe is "Settled Law."

Supreme Court media recap from last night. Remember, these Supreme selections have the potential to influence our lives for 30+ years. I know, can't read too much in because of my sample size, and I know CNN is very good for breaking news, etc...but here goes:

50-minute drive home: NPR's special coverage, very intelligent, balanced discussion; long clips from Alito and senators, with analysis and discussion and debate by NPR commentators.

45 minutes in our exercise room at home: CNN the whole time; only about one minute or less on Alito hearing, with one and only one topic being covered: namely, Alito’s wife’s tearful exit from the hearing room. Not kidding.

20 minutes with the Daily Show: Funny as hell, as usual. Cogent and intelligent commentary on Alito hearings, "disguised" as comedy. Laugh to keep from crying. And despite his relentless commentary on Bush, Stewart is not a fanatical lefty by any stretch...he brutally (and hilariously) mocked Harry Belafonte for publicly meeting Chavez and calling Bush "The worst terrorist in the world." That kind of talk is absurd, and deserves to be mocked.