Let's Do the Time Warp Again

A technician covered up the offending screen with a black cloth.

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Luckily, Thomas's audience, a bunch of lawyers, judges and students celebrating the Federalist Society's 25th anniversary, was indulgent. They greeted him with a 25-second standing ovation so contagious that even Thomas joined in. Instead of asking why Thomas never talks in court, the question was phrased: "Why do your colleagues ask so many questions?"

"I did not plant that question," the justice said, taking a poke at Hillary Clinton for her recent flap over planted questions.

In the bosom of a group that has claimed as members John Ashcroft, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, Kenneth Starr and Robert Bork, the perpetually embattled Thomas felt at ease. "You're my kind of people," he told the group, then lingered for two hours to sign copies of his new memoir.

Among friends, Thomas felt comfortable to air his many long-standing grievances with the world. "So much has been written about me, and most of it's wrong," he lamented. He protested "the monopoly of certain organizations and certain groups and media types" in Washington. He chafed at the notion of affirmative action at Yale Law School ("What were the benefits?" he asked. "Student loans?"). He sounded defensive when speaking about his silences: "One thing I've demonstrated in 16 years is you can do this job without asking a single question."

And never far from the surface were the wounds of '91, the Coke can and all the rest. Thomas recalled how his wife "has been steadfast and immovable and unshakeable through some of the most difficult and turbulent times." He told the Federalists that he was "so grateful that President Bush had confidence and faith in me to play such a role in this country."

When the first question came -- an innocent query: "Is the job as wonderful as you thought it would be?" -- Thomas turned the answer to his confirmation fight. "Because of things that happened after the announcement, I never had a chance to think about things that the job entailed," he answered.

Even a frivolous question, about the fate of the embattled football coach at Nebraska, his wife's alma mater, gave Thomas a chance to revisit the lessons of '91. "Let me express my unequivocal support for Coach Callahan," he said. "I don't cut and run. I'm not in the middle of changing every time things are going bad."