With battle lines drawn but Republicans widely expected to prevail, US senators from both parties yesterday urged reasoned consideration of the controversial nomination of Mr John Ashcroft as Attorney General.
On the television talk shows, politicians debated the Missouri Republican's conservative views and his opponents' concerns about his record on race relations and opposition to abortion.
Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, told the Fox News Sunday programme that Mr Ashcroft would win confirmation in the Senate, where the former Missouri governor served until losing his attempt for re-election for a second term in November.
"Yes, he will be confirmed", said Mr McConnell, whose wife, Ms Elaine Chao, also has been nominated by the President-elect, Mr George W. Bush, to head the Labour Department.
Mr McConnell predicted Mr Ashcroft would be supported by "a number of Democrats" in states carried by Mr Bush in his presidential election victory over the Democrat, Mr Al Gore. The Senate Republican leader, Senator Trent Lott, has already stated all 50 of the Senate's Republicans would vote to confirm Mr Ashcroft, whose confirmation hearings begin tomorrow.
In a Newsweek poll issued on Saturday, more than 40 per cent of Americans said the Senate should reject Mr Ashcroft because he is too far right on issues such as abortion, drugs and gun control to be effective.
A Time/CNN poll found late last week that although most Americans were unfamiliar with Mr Ashcroft, 61 per cent thought the Senate should look carefully at his stance on affirmative action, 53 per cent on his position on abortion and 58 per cent on his opposition to an African-American nominee for a federal judgeship.
Senator Harry Reid (Democrat, Nevada) urged Republicans and Democrats alike to go into the hearing open-minded, asking that supporters also pay close heed to testimony regarding Mr Ashcroft's actions to block the nomination of Mr Ronnie White to be a federal judge.
"We should go into this, Republicans and Democrats, as jurors," Mr Reid told the Fox programme.
Senator Arlen Specter (Republican, Pennsylvania) said he planned to support Mr Ashcroft "unless something extraordinary came out of the hearings".
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (Republican, Texas) said she planned to back him. But Senator Paul Wellstone (Democrat, Minnesota) said he had "real questions" about the nomination of a man he called a friend.
"I like him a lot", Mr Well stone said. "But he's going to be a lawyer for all the people in the country and there should be careful scrutiny."
"I hope that perhaps George Bush would reconsider", added Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat, California), the first senator to publicly oppose the nomination, on ABC's This Week.
But Senator John Kyl (Republican, Arizona) took issue with charges Mr Ashcroft was racially insensitive. "I hope that during the course of these hearings that when those questions are raised people will listen very closely to John Ashcroft's responses."
And Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont), the ranking member on the judiciary panel, told NBC's Meet the Press it was up to Mr Ashcroft to explain "exactly what those views are and then allow the Senate to vote".