A few days ago he was a squeaky-clean dad, now Kavanaugh is one step up from a corner boy
EVEN at this remove, the drama at the US senate judiciary committee hearing was disturbing. A normally civilised and rigorous vetting of a learned judge, tipped for the highest court in the land, descended into a mudslinging match where only business suits and the air of Ivy League privilege distinguished it from the Jeremy Kyle show.
There was also something portentous about the spectacle of a middle-aged man being judged for his teenage escapades, in a different moral and legal climate than that of his youth. How many of us would survive retrospective scrutiny of our misspent youths?
The ghastly bickering symbolised the ugly partisanship of US politics, as well as the aggression, chaos and seething fervour of Trump’s America. On the plus side, it showed how the crime of sexual harassment has become legitimised since Anita Hill faced a similar hearing.
Having Dr Christine Blasey Ford recall, in vivid detail, her humiliation at the hands of two High School jocks 35 years ago was not what American feminists envisioned when they first stood up to male violence. Paying the price of male aggression once in a lifetime is too much, but for a second time, in adulthood, after years of therapy and attempts to bury the past as Dr Ford has, it amounts to a crucifixion.
Dr Ford didn’t report the molestation in the Eighties because back then women’s shame at being sexually abused was the best shield men had against reprisals. Ten years ago there would have been a massive public outcry at her attempts to deprive a brilliant man of his birthright on such threadbare grounds. But thanks, in part, to #Me Too, Dr Ford won sympathy across the political divide, although there were admittedly a few old timers who railed at her nerve .
Granted, she delivered her account impeccably. Perhaps her fury at the man who she claims sexually assaulted her has dissipated, but there was not a hint of it in her delivery. The psychology professor knows that, even in these more enlightened times, angry women tropes are still off-limits, and that, while men are allowed Tarzan-like eruptions of rage, a woman’s best chance of winning friends and influencing people is with charm.
Dr Ford appeared vulnerable and gentle. She was helpful to her interrogators and apologetic for the gaps in her memory. She made it clear that the hearing was the last place she wanted to be. Her voice was shaking, she seemed to know her place.
Even Republican senators agreed that as a witness she was ‘pleasing’. High praise indeed.
Dr Ford’s allegations would never be aired in a court as she has no witnesses or evidence. Kavanaugh made heavy weather of how her friend has no memory of the party, although he conveniently forgot to mention that she believes Dr Ford.
Ford can’t prove her accusations against the judge, but she took him out all the same. Because of her he has shown his true colours. A few days ago he was a squeaky-clean father of two girls with a brilliant legal mind who, despite his deep Catholic faith, had promised to administer the law without fear or favour. Now he’s one step up from a corner boy.
During the hearing he alternated between self pity and rage, displaying a shocking lack of the intellectual equilibrium required from a top lawyer. His outbursts and belligerent interruptions raised questions about his temperament and ability to cope under pressure.
When his fondness for beer led to him being asked if he had ever blacked out, he shot back: ‘Have you?’ He later apologised for that remark. Barring a miracle, he will be appointed to the supreme court, despite his battered reputation and nasty streak. No wonder Donald Trump spotted his potential.