If you’re keeping score at home, Booker made a huge show about releasing documents, which actually made Kavanaugh look good, all the while showboating about “civil disobedience.” How is it civil disobedience if you haven’t broken any rules?

The predictable “take” from the chattering classes will be about norm erosion. Donald Trump has lowered the bar, and henceforth, everyone will break the rules and behave in an uncivil manner.

The more interesting point here—the takeaway lesson for politicians—is that you actually can’t be someone you’re not. It may be a curse in today’s political environment, but Booker strikes me as a fundamentally nice and moderate guy. But because the Democratic Party wants someone to be a fighter, he has to operate outside his comfort zone. This makes him look inauthentic, which, of course, he is.