John McCain came out early in support of Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. He worked behind the scenes to generate more support from his colleagues. He pointed to his 2000 campaign promise to appoint conservative judges as one reason he was pleased with the Alito nomination. He spoke on the Senate floor in favor of Alito's confirmation. He even spent several months campaigning for president telling people Samuel Alito was one of the "finest justices ever appointed to the Supreme Court." The inescapable conclusion? A President McCain would not appoint Supreme Court Justices like Samuel Alito. We know this because in the days before the potentially decisive Florida primary, someone (we don't know who) claimed to have heard McCain (we don't know where) say that he was concerned about Alito's conservatism (we don't know when). I understand the conservative objections to John McCain and I'm sympathetic to many of them, including his willing participation in the so-called Gang of 14. But this is scurrilous.