The desperation of the anti-Alito forces has become obvious in their eleventh hour. They have released their pre-hearing advertising designed to convince Americans that Judge Alito should not get confirmed to the Supreme Court. Thanks to the ABA's unanimous decision yesterday to give Alito its highest rating -- "well qualified" -- the only avenue left to PFAW and AJ is character assassination:

The battle over the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. turned personal Wednesday with the announcement of new commercials that sharply escalated liberal attacks on him, moving beyond his legal views to attack his character and credibility instead. ...

Separately, the American Bar Association on Wednesday rated Judge Alito "well qualified" for the court, its highest rating, as expected. His supporters hailed the rating. Liberal groups said their complaint was his judicial philosophy, not his professional qualifications.

A commercial by one of the liberal groups, MoveOn.org Political Action, depicts Judge Alito as an actor receiving makeup and coaching.

Liberal groups have now admitted that the only opposition to Alito comes based on his politics, but instead of attacking those in advertising -- a sure turnoff for what most people still want to have handled in a non-partisan fashion -- they attack Alito's character instead. Not even the New York Times buys this approach, as David Kilpatrick skewers their insinuations:

The "job application" mentioned in the commercial refers to a 1985 memorandum Judge Alito wrote as a lawyer for the Reagan administration seeking a promotion. Judge Alito did express disagreement with the constitutional right to abortion, but the closest thing to the "excuse" described in the commercial is a statement attributed to Judge Alito by Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, after they met.

"He said, 'I was an advocate seeking a job,' " Mrs. Feinstein recounted. " 'It was a political job. That was 1985. I am now a judge.' " She said he added: " 'It is very different. I am not an advocate. I don't give heed to my personal views. What I do is interpret the law.' "

In the same memorandum, Judge Alito said he was a member of Concerned Alumni of Princeton, a defunct conservative organization that the commercial asserts "wanted to restrict African-Americans admissions to your college."

The group never explicitly sought to limit admissions of black students, but it did oppose the school's affirmative action admissions policies and urged the admission of more children of alumni.

There is no other record of evidence of Judge Alito's involvement besides the 1985 memorandum. In answering a Senate judicial questionnaire, Judge Alito wrote that he had "no recollection of being a member."

In other words, MoveOn and its allies want to fight Alito's nomination, for which the ABA notes he is eminently qualified, with half-truths and outright lies. And yet these people want us to question Alito's character?

Politics is like dating. When people start catching the stench of desperation, it turns off everyone but the weirdoes. That sounds like a perfect description of MoveOn and its allies in the mudslinging against Alito.

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