The story of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh has captured the nation. On September 25th, during Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing, she recounted this story in front of the world- revisiting each traumatic detail. As everyone now knows, Kavanaugh- who is one Senate vote away from being a justice of the United States Supreme Court- allegedly pinned Ford down, groped her, tried to remove her clothing and covered her mouth when she tried to yell. In her opening statement, Ford stated that “it was hard for [her] to breathe. [She] thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill [her]. Both Brett and Mark [Judge, Kavanaugh’s school friend] were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They both seemed to be having a good time.” She appeared nervous at the start of the hearing; however, Ford answered politely as she was daggered with questions from the female sex crime prosecutor that the all-male Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee hired to interview her. Although her voice broke at times, the professor of psychology used her professional knowledge of trauma as she described the 1982 house party with Kavanaugh – “the boy who sexually assaulted me.” Carved into her head, she said, is Kavanaugh and Judge’s “uproarious laughter”. “They were having fun at my expense,” she stated. “I was underneath one of them while the two laughed.” Although unable to recall details such as the exact date of the gathering or the address of the house where it occurred, when asked by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois how certain she is that Kavanaugh was the one who assaulted her, Ford responded with a concentrated “100 percent”.

Ford’s testimony seemed incredibly credible and believable. As she recounted details from that traumatic night, she seemed to be reliving the moments that haunt her to this day. She did not dodge questions but instead confessed to what she did not remember which actually heightened her reliability through honesty. She was direct with the questions asked of her, giving explicit answers. It was clear she wasn’t seeking fame. She seems like the average person. Since coming forward, Ford has said that she has relocated twice. She also said that she wasn’t aware of how to contact Congress to share her story. Ford described how “terrified” she was to come before the Senate Judiciary Committee and testify. She has faced much backlash for trying to do what she states is her “civic duty”. And that is what she has done.

In contrast to the poised Ford, Kavanaugh seemed aggressive and guarded. He shouted, cried, and even interrupted senators trying to ask him questions. He was rude and disrespectful. When asked whether he had ever drank so much that he had forgotten events that occured by Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, he peevishly replied “I don’t know, have you?” Klobuchar was momentarily stupefied but then asked, “Could you answer the question, judge? That’s not happened, is that your answer?” He responded: “Yeah, and I’m curious if you have.” “What do you like to drink?” he demanded of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. His responses echoed those of a galling teenager with a temperament issue. He argued that these accusations against him are fueled by “pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election” and “revenge on behalf of the Clintons.” By failing to take somewhat responsibility and deflecting these claims to others, Kavanaugh seems even less credible than he did before. He portrayed himself as a regular drinker, made obvious with the repetition of the phrase “I like beer.” But he said that he never got blackout drunk- an obvious, blatant lie- despite the fact that his Yale classmates described him as a “heavy drinker”. He stated that high school seniors were allowed to drink because Maryland’s drinking age was 18 at the time, albeit false. By the time he was 18, the drinking age had been raised to 21. Kavanaugh gave ridiculous explanations to the drinking and the sexual references in his yearbook. “Beach Week” was a yearly Maryland prep school trip to Delaware that often involved substantial drinking, reported by the Washington Post. The “Beach City Ralph Club- Biggest Contributor” was not a reference to vomiting due to excessive drinking, it was merely because he has “a weak stomach, whether it’s with beer or spicy food or anything.” Right. What about “Devil’s triangle”, “boofing”, “FFFFFFourth of July”, or “Renate Alumnius”? Kavanaugh claims that all of these terms are nothing but innocent, even under oath. By flagrantly lying about such a menial detail, he dwindles his own credibility when it comes to the main topic of the discussion. If he can so easily lie about such comparatively minor things, what gives him reason not to lie about the claims against him? Not to mention Kavanaugh’s laughable calendar. His calendar seemed to actually backfire when Senator Whitehouse pointed out that although there was no party listed on the calendar, there was a date that fit the range Ford described that listed the names of the witnesses she claimed were at the party. Kavanugh’s good friend Mark Judge has written a book titled “Wasted: Tales of a GenX Drunk” about teenage drinking which included a character named “O’Kavanaugh”. Although Kavanaugh will not admit that the character is based on him, it is completely obvious that Judge created the character in his likeness. “O’Kavanaugh” versus “Kavanaugh” is not exactly an extreme stretch. The odds aren’t exactly in his favor. Additionally, whenever he was questioned about agreeing to an FBI investigation, the nominee completely dodged the question and only responded that he wanted a hearing the day after the allegations went live- not even giving a clear response. Why can’t he just agree to an investigation if he truly believes he has nothing to hide? The only reason why he wouldn’t want an investigation is if he is trying to conceal his past. An honest man would beg for an investigation to clear his name as soon as possible. What more will the FBI find?

He clearly has the intellect to sit on the supreme court, no one is opposing that. Kavanaugh has gone through six FBI investigations and has sat of the federal court for 12 years. But his temperament has now come to question. If he cannot handle himself at a glorified job interview, how is he supposed to deal with such sensitive topics that are so prevalent in the Supreme Court?

Kavanaugh countlessly avoided important questions asked by the Senate Judiciary Committee, unlike Ford. Kavanaugh’s denials were hard to believe given the numerous reports of his heavy drinking by former Yale classmates. Contrary to Kavanaugh, Ford bolstered her credibility by not only describing in agonizing detail what she did remember but being honest about what she did not. She did not try to hide what she was unable to recall. Kavanaugh was crying, screaming, disrespectful, and incredibly partisan. If a woman acted even half of how Kavanaugh did, she would be called hysterical and hormonal. What America saw from Judge Kavanaugh was extremely unprofessional, and honestly pathetic. This was not a sign of strength; frankly, it’s hard to believe that anyone saw it as such. We observed a weak man with no sense of self restraint or control over his emotions. But Kavanaugh isn’t evil. It’s true that he is being put on trial for something that occured over 30 years ago. He might’ve changed. But that doesn’t merit him lying- especially lying under oath, especially about menial points that do not matter. Whether or not these allegations are even true, one thing is for sure: Kavanaugh certainly does not have the temperament necessary to be on the Supreme Court of the United States. His behavior during the hearing shows that he is unable to be unbiased, a skill necessary for all Supreme Court justices. If Kavanaugh is indeed accepted to the Supreme Court, it would make a mockery of our governmental system.