In the long days and nights that followed, the nation was subjected to stories of early morning jogs, threats left on answering machines, and, perhaps most strangely, Thomas supporter John N. Doggett III's bizarre claim that he was once ordered to put his penis back in his pants.

This is not to say that Anita Hill was not sexually harassed, nor is it to say that the hearings were not entertaining. But none of these accusations, rebuttals and simply irrelevant statements could cloak the fact that Thomas was not the most qualified person for the highest bench in the land. Nor could they mask the truth: Thomas was both nominated and attacked out of purely political motives. If we are ever to have another Justice chosen for legal scholarship and not political palatability, this partisan poisoning of the process must stop.

Sadly, there is no sign of a let-up. A.E. Dick Howard, a professor at the University of Virginia, warns, "My friends in conservative circles are still smarting over the Bork hearings, even though it's been six years now. They're salivating over the thought of a markedly liberal candidate so they can 'do a Bork,' as they say."

The thought of anyone "salivating" to inflict political damage to the opposing side at the expense of a possibly qualified candidate should make every American nauseated. Republicans in the Senate and the right-wing special-interest groups who support them must resist the eminently political desire for payback and give what will hopefully be a qualified nominee a fighting chance.

They must put the painful memories of the Bork hearings behind them and act for the good of the country. If they are able to confirm an intelligent, qualified justice, they have done everyone a tremendous service, even if he or she does not meet with the approval of the NRA or the Heritage Foundation.

The Democrats must also do their part. In their first nomination opportunity since Kennedy, the Democrats should resist the temptation to bend to the liberal interest groups who desire revenge via a left-wing choice. An overly qualified, centrist choice would indicate that Clinton does not intend to sink to the cynical level of his predecessors. Democrats in the Senate must not give in to pressure to apply an abortion litmus test to the nominee; they have to be ready to have legitimate disagreements with the nominee on matters of interpretation without throwing the judge out with the baby, as it were.

President Clinton has said that he will "try to pick a person who has a fine mind, good judgement, wide experience in the law and in the problems of real people, and someone with a big heart."

Pressure from the American Heart Association aside, Clinton would be well-advised to eliminate the coronary concerns and concentrate on the first three.