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Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake is in a tight spot. A great spot, really.

Whatever he decides about the fitness of Brett Kavanaugh to sit on the Supreme Court, he’s going to be despised by half the country.

Confirm Kavanaugh, and he’s a toothless dog — all pit bull until it comes time to sink his teeth into President Donald Trump, and suddenly, he’s a toy poodle.

And, oh yeah, a guy who laughs in the traumatized faces of victims of sexual assault.

Reject Kavanaugh, and he’s a spineless traitor to the Republican cause, a slimy liberal who refused to stand up for truth, justice and this venerated judge when despicable Democrats dredged up a phony sexual-assault story and his high-school yearbook.

And, oh yeah, a traitor to America’s fathers, brothers and sons who apparently find themselves at dire risk of being caught in the crosshairs of revenge-minded women screaming, “Me, too.”

In other words, it’s business as usual for Flake, who isn’t running for reelection because his own constituents hate him.

A Suffolk University/Arizona Republic poll released this week shows fewer than 30 percent of registered voters in Arizona have a favorable view of Flake. And most of those who like him are Democrats. That same poll, by the way, found Arizonans nearly evenly split on Kavanaugh’s confirmation. So what’s a lame duck to do? That’s easy: Do that which is unusual in Washington, that which is unheard of in these polarized times: Do what you think is right, Senator. Clearly, Flake has undergone some soul-searching over the past week about whether to hand Kavanaugh a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land.

Last Friday, Flake announced that he would vote to confirm Kavanaugh given his “persuasive response” to Christine Blasey Ford’s claim that he sexually attacked her 36 years ago, when the two were in high school.

Hours later, Flake announced that he was reserving judgment on Kavanaugh and asked that the FBI look more deeply into his sexual activities as a young man.

On Tuesday, Flake said he was “troubled” by the tone of Kavanaugh’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, when the judge angrily denied any wrongdoing and raged about Democrats and the revenge of the Clintons and “what goes around comes around” — whatever he meant by that.

“The interaction with the members was sharp and partisan, and that concerns me,” Flake said.

In particular, Flake cited an exchange with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, DMinn., who asked if Kavanaugh had

ever blacked out after drinking, to which Kavanaugh responded: “I don’t know. Have you?”

Kavanaugh later apologized, but the damage was done. “We just can’t have that on the court,” Flake said on Tuesday. “We simply can’t.”

On Thursday, Flake reviewed the FBI’s findings and announced there was “no additional corroborating information” to suggest that Kavanaugh forced himself on women while in high school or college.

Naturally, Republicans are claiming vindication for Kavanaugh and Democrats are calling whitewash. And there in the middle sit three Republican senators, one of them Flake. It seems to me he has three clear choices.

❚ He can side with Democrats and demand a more thorough investigation, noting that certain people, including Blasey Ford, weren’t even questioned by the FBI.

❚ He can side with Republicans — pointing out that Democrats have been after Kavanaugh since the day he was nominated — and vote to confirm him to a lifetime stint on the Supreme Court.

❚ Or he can acknowledge that there will be no justice here for Kavanaugh or for Blasey Ford. There’s no way to fix this debacle. No Senate vote can restore reputations once so explosively shredded.

The question before Flake and the Senate is not what is best or fair for Kavanaugh and not what is best or fair for Blasey Ford.

It’s what is best and fair for this deeply, deeply divided country. Really, it comes down to just this: Can the American public be assured that Kavanaugh can fairly and impartially judge the controversies that will rock this nation for a generation to come? Can we have confidence in our nation’s highest court?

If not, then ...