policprofessor, let's start with you, was it a legal error, tactical error or smart politics for mitch mcconnell coming out of the box on saturday, saying don't even bother to send us a nominee? >> i think that it was a terrible error. precedent is not on his side in many occasions over the history of the nation. presidents in their last year have made a nomination to the supreme court and the senate has acted on it. not always affirmatively. sometimes they have rented a nominee, but the president has academy. so he doesn't have precedent on his side, but more importantly, it looks like he's trying to politicize the court. i think that everybody understands that the process is a political process. the senate is and the president is a political architect, but what i think the public wants and fears is that the process not inbeingfect the judiciary itself. what's important is that that institution remain independent. and so to the extent that what senator mcconnell is doing is motivated by politicizing the judiciary itself, then he's running afoul of what the american people are going to