Wow!

I just couldn't watch. I just couldn't watch Kavanaugh get the committee's approval. I just couldn't watch the talking heads on teevee say that the floor vote was done deal.

So I left home and traveled all over town, listening to a goofy book on a non-political subject. Finally, as the sun loped toward the horizon, I glanced at my favorite news sites and...

WHAT...THE...HELL...!!

If I understand correctly, a gang of four "swing vote" senators suddenly realized that they had power, and that they could force an FBI investigation. That investigation will take this political hot potato out of the Senate's hands. If the report says "He's dirty," the gang of four (and perhaps others) can offer a thumb's down without angering their base voters. "He's clean" can justify a thumb's up.

We cannot dismiss the possibility that Trump gave the signal that he was amenable to this move.

Why would Trump turn against Kavanaugh? Well, there is the obvious reason: Dr. Blasey Ford clearly told the truth, while Kavanaugh revealed himself to be an unendurable snot. He tried to do it Trump's way -- Attack! Rage! Conspiracy Theory! -- but he came across as an entitled, petulant frat boy. And to be honest, he also seemed drunk, literally drunk, right there in that chamber.

My suspicion: Behind the scenes, someone told Trump that Kavanaugh is guilty as hell, and not just in regards to Blasey Ford. The truth can't be hidden forever. "Mr. President, do you want to go down and history as the man who put a rapist on the Supreme Court?"

Thus:

President Donald Trump on Friday called Christine Blasey Ford's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee "compelling" and "credible," adding that he was not sure if Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court would "continue onward."

Trump also said Ford, who alleges that she was sexually assaulted by Kavanaugh at a house when they were teenagers, was "certainly a very credible witness."

"I thought her testimony was very compelling and she looks like a very fine woman to me. A very fine woman," he said. "And I thought that Brett’s testimony likewise was, really something that I hadn’t seen before. Incredible. It was an incredible moment in the history of our country."

However, the president seemed less sure about the fate of his nominee, telling reporters, "I don’t know if this is going to continue onward or if we’re going to get a vote."

"Really something I haven't seen before." Savor that wording.

I'm reminded of an old Hollywood joke: Billy Wilder attended the premiere of Cecil B. DeMille's The Greatest Show on Earth. Wilder hated the film, but he didn't want to hurt DeMille's feelings. So when DeMille asked "How'd you like it?" Wilder answered: "C.B., no one can deny it -- you truly have made THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH."

So, it all comes down to whether the FBI can prove Kavanaugh a liar -- and the most direct way to do that will be to crack Mark Judge. Will Judge lie to the Bureau to protect his old college buddy? I wouldn't.

Then there are the other claimants. Frankly, I think that Swetnick is on the level, and that her story will soon seem very credible to many Americans who now consider it dubious. In all likelihood, Ramirez is also telling the truth, but the insecurity of her memories on some points make hers the most problematic of the three claims

Kavanaugh is despicable. I came to that conclusion well before Blasey Ford's story was publicized. David Brock's behind-the-scenes portrait of the man was a powerful emetic. Kavanaugh's perjuries and hypocrisies were audacious and vile.

Bill Clinton was impeached on a single perjury charge that was far less important than were the lies about drinking that Kavanaugh told yesterday -- lies which an MSNBC host, for some unfathomable reason, labeled "white lies." No, they were not. They were important, impudent falsehoods told under oath, told to Senators, told to the entire country, about matters directly germane to Christine Blasey Ford's testimony. Those perjuries alone should suffice to insure that Kavanaugh loses his judgeship, yet they are hardly the most significant perjuries in his ledger.

A double standard governs our culture. Compare Kavanaugh to Clinton, who "lied like a gentleman" (as they used to say in the Victorian era) when asked about a sexual relationship which had absolutely nothing to do with the Paula Jones suit. What offended me was not the fact that Clinton sidestepped the full truth, relying on a legalistic rationale based on what constitutes "real" sex. What offended me was the fact that a judge would permit that man, or any other man, to be grilled about his entire sexual history.

Bill Clinton was far more sinned against than sinning.

History will not say the same about Brett Kavanaugh. There have been some truly awful people on the Supreme Court in the past, but even the worst of them cannot compare to the smug, smarmy, hyper-partisan Kavanaugh. We may call him Brett the Blackmailable. He epitomizes every over-privileged lout who ever made me want to grab a pipe wrench and play dentist.