Sunday Show Guests

If you are so inclined, you could catch literally a full tenth (plus one) of the Senate's membership on the Sunday talk shows tomorrow:

On NBC's Meet the Press, Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter and ranking Democrat Pat Leahy will discuss the upcoming Court confirmation. Senators Dodd and Hagel of the Foreign Relations Committee will presumably discuss Iraq and John Bolton, but don't be surprised if nomination talk leaks in there too. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA), the only House member on any of the scheduled lineups, will also be a guest. Finally, Tim Russert [Update: Andrea Mitchell] will roundtable with NBC's justice correspondent Pete Williams, NPR's legal commentator Nina Totenberg, and Wall Street Journal political editor John Harwood. This is an episode not to be missed. Coverage of Wimbledon may interfere with the regular timing of the show, so consult your local listings.

Specter also headlines on ABC's This Week, joined by Massachusetts' Ted Kennedy. Senators Schumer (D-NY) and Cornyn (R-TX), also of the Judiciary Committee, will square off as well. Other guests: former solicitor general and legal commentator Walter Dellinger, and ex-House speaker Newt Gingrich.

Fox News Sunday scores the only interview with a member of the Senate leadership this weekend; Majority Whip Mitch McConnell is their headliner. Judiciary Committee members Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will also appear. C. Boyden Gray of the Committee for Justice, and Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice (the former conservative, the latter liberal, although it's hard to tell from the group names) round out the guest list for FNS. Presumably they'll panelize as well with the usual cadre: Juan Williams, Mara Liasson, Brit Hume and Bill Kristol (along with host Chris Wallace).

Joe Biden makes his near-weekly appearance on CBS' Face the Nation this week, along with his Judiciary Committee colleague Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Schieffer [Update: I've learned John Roberts will guest host tomorrow] will have a conservative/liberal interest group segment as well, featuring Ralph Neas of People for the American Way and Jay Alan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice. Jan Crawford Greenburg of the Chicago Tribune will join in the questioning.

Specter looks to complete the trifecta tomorrow with an appearance on CNN's Late Edition at noon; this time he'll be joined again by Senator Leahy. Also appearing will be lawyer David Boies - probably best known for being Al Gore's lawyer in Bush v. Gore back in 2000 - and Robert Bork, probably the best known failed Supreme Court nominee. USAID's Andrew Natsios rounds out the list there.

All these guests should make for an interesting Sunday, but whether any news will actually get made is anyone's guess. Watch for any hints of surprise that O'Connor retired before Rehnquist (some conservative blogs are saying this was highly unexpected). Also watch for any hints from McConnell, Hagel, Dodd and/or Biden about what the Supreme Court business means for the Bolton nomination.