MB,He's from Trenton, NJ. A brief bio is linked.
I agree with you. He's obviously not going to be Justice Brennan, but I was frankly confused as to why the Democrats went after him so fiercely. Their attacks were downright embarrassing and made them look foolish. I took the time to read about a half dozen of his most controversial (according to the Democrats) opinions, and they were all models of cautious and careful legal analysis. I didn't detect an agenda at all.
BTW, who on the Court do you think of as not "bright"?