Dem Attacks Drive Mrs. Alito to Tears

Attacks by Senate Democrats trying to paint her husband as a racist drove Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's wife to tears on Wednesday, forcing her to leave her husband's confirmation hearings for a brief interval.

"She's sick and tired of the mistreatment of her husband," explained Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, indicating that over-the-top attacks on her husband's character had prompted Mrs. Alito to get emotional.

She returned to the hearing room after a committee break, smiling and holding her husband's hand, the Associated Press said.

Martha Ann Alito became teary eyed and distraught when Sen. Lindsey Graham apologized for the ugly grilling her husband had been subjected to near the end of a long day.

"Judge Alito, I am sorry that you've had to go through this. I am sorry that your family has had to sit here and listen to this," the South Carolina Republican said.
Earlier in the proceedings, Sen. Ted Kennedy challenged the Bush nominee over his 1980s membership in The Concerned Alumni of Princeton.

Quoting from an article critical of affirmative action written - not by Alito - but by a fellow CAP member, the Massachusetts Democrat suggested that the prospective Supreme Court Justice was racially insensitive.