Yawns, Obama's standard and Sonia sequels

Five things to watch for in today's hearing:

5. YAWNS: Are the hearings starting to bore you a bit? Well, be happy you're not a senator. They'll sit in the hearing room all day. They'll hear all-too-familiar arguments and rebuttals. They know it really doesn't matter in the end; Sonia Sotomayor is headed toward confirmation. And there's a bunch of TV cameras waiting to capture them nodding off.

4. SEQUELS: We're at that point of the hearing where we start hearing the same things over and over again. Sotomayor sequels. Been there, done that. For example, how many more times do you think we'll hear a reference to wise Latinas? Fidelity to the law? New Haven firefighters? On with the show, please.

3. THE END: OK, it's been fun. But it's time to start looking for the light at the end of the tunnel. The hearings are expected to end Thursday, maybe Friday. Sooner the better.

2. BOLTING REPUBLICANS: We're still waiting for a few Republicans to break ranks in Sotomayor's favor. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said yesterday he liked her and may just vote for her. Also watch for plumes of smoke from the offices of Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and two GOP moderates from Maine: Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.

1. OBAMA'S STANDARD: In 2005, then-Sen. Barack Obama said he was "sorely tempted" to vote to confirm John Roberts as chief justice, calling George W. Bush's nominee intellectually and temperamentally qualified for the high court. But he voted against Roberts. And in doing so, Obama said he took into account Roberts' values and empathy. In other words, Obama created an ideological test that Roberts failed. He also created cover for Republicans passing judgment on Sotomayor. As Ruth Marcus wrote in her Washington Post column today: "Judging from the tone so far, the most likely outcome is a near party-line vote. In that case, the president won't have only himself to blame -- but he will have himself to blame in part."

-Ron Fournier, AP Washington bureau chief