They object that Kavanaugh put too much emphasis on the “choir boy” parts of his record, but what obligation was he under to talk about, say, the Ralph Club over and above his academic and athletic record, when he was being fiercely pressed by opponents determined to assassinate his character?

His critics took great umbrage that he told MacCallum that “the vast majority of the time I spent in high school was studying or focused on sports and being a good friend to the boys and girls that I was friends with.” This is almost certainly true, though. If he was at school for roughly a 7-hour day, five days a week, and had football and basketball practice too, and had to spend some time studying and six to eight hours a night sleeping, that doesn’t leave the “vast majority” of his time for anything else.

He wasn’t a dropout or alcoholic. He, by his own recollection, was at or near the top of his class during high school. None of that means that he didn’t drink to excess, but — again — he never said otherwise.