Yeah, I mean, I felt blindsided by the question when I heard it on the radio, but I felt even more blindsided by the radio coverage, where they were presenting it like it were a cute anecdote that lightened up the boring coverage of the boring confirmation hearing. (Which of course is a whole other issue. The stuff the Supreme Court says matters, as I'm sure I don't have to tell you, and the idea that even a perfunctory hearing for a Supreme Court justice is the kind of thing that needs to be lightened up with shtick is seriously broken.)

If you dig through my livejournal you'll probably find four or five posts about how uncomfortable I am being a Jew on Christmas in America. It's something I'm deeply insecure about, and this was a sucker punch right to that insecurity. And then you add the New York sense of humor bit (See here for a great example... Despite the laughter in the chamber, it was one of those “only in New York” references that might go over the heads of a few folks.) and... damn them all.