DANFORTH KEEPS DEBATE ABOUT NOMINEE IN FOCUS

U.S. Sen. John Danforth of Missouri has stepped into the breach of history with his stewardship of Clarence Thomas's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. A Danforth protege from years back, Thomas is only the second black nominated for a seat on the nation's highest court, which enhances the historic significance of his appointment. What Danforth is guarding against is a repeat of history from four years back, when special interest groups and divisive tactics brought the high court nomination of Robert Bork to a bitter end. We applaud Danforth for his eloquent and well-aimed backing of Thomas and his desire that nominations of this sort be decided on merit and not malice.

Danforth is a man neither enamored nor appalled by the limelight inherent in his position. He is a well-regarded senator who will step to center stage only when issues demand it. The issue, he now feels, demands it. He is anxious to see that forces that propelled the Bork nomination to ruin will not play a role in the Thomas confirmation hearing. If official inattention to details aided and abetted these forces in 1987, Danforth wants nothing taken for granted this time around.

His thinking and resolve are, as is most often the case, right on the mark. Look at his words from a July 11 Senate speech on this topic:

I do not believe that confirmation proceedings for the U.S. Supreme Court should be political campaigns designed to build blocs of interest groups to oppose a Supreme Court nominee.

The worst threat to this country is divisiveness on the basis of race ... The great challenge to America is how to hold our country together as one people, regardless of race.

Let us have it all in the open not just 40 phone calls; not just little letter-writing campaigns and an order to make people afraid of Clarence Thomas. Put it out in the open; call attention to it; put it in the spotlight of public attention and let the American people respond.

What the American people should know is that Danforth's warning is coming to pass. The National Organization of Women announced its opposition to Thomas within days of his nomination. The Congressional Black Caucus not only voiced its own opposition but said it would rally black politicians around the country to oppose Thomas as well. Without some temperance, without a voice to bring this debate to a plain of reason, interest groups and those with narrow political agendas will again rule the day on a high court nomination. That isn't the way a confirmation process is supposed to work.

If confirmation hearings show beyond doubt that Clarence Thomas is not qualified to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, then let the Senate do its duty and reject him. But let the facts come to the table, and don't allow scattered interest groups crush the chance for this nation to benefit from a promising jurist. Sen. Danforth is working hard to keep this discussion in perspective and we commend him for it.