There are dozens of people equally qualified and equally acceptable to the Federalist Society.
This is from David Frum, and I totally agree. He should have said this:
“Yes, I drank too much in my last year of high school and first year of college, misbehaved in ways that embarrass me now, I am sincerely sorry, and have never done anything like it since.”
That’s almost certainly true...and most of us would have forgiven him.
Instead his defense was: It's all lies, every word.