Look for some clarity on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito by mid-afternoon. By then, the Senate Republican leadership will have completed a strategy conference call, Sen. Bill Frist will have taken the lay of the land on the Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Harry Reid will have decided just how badly he wants to destroy the United States Senate.

Sources tell us that Sen. Harry Reid is being heavily pressured by Sens. Ted Kennedy and Patrick Leahy to do everything in his power to help them delay the final vote on Judge Alito to the Supreme Court into early February. Reid and Frist discussed such an option yesterday, or should we say that Reid mentioned the idea and Frist told him to go pound sand.

Senior Republican Senate aides expect that Reid will once again approach the GOP leadership with the same proposal today. We are told that Senator Frist before Christmas asked his senior staff to prepare for use of the “Constitutional Option” in the Alito vote. They are ready to go, have a war room prepared and we wouldn’t be surprised if they have a big red button for Frist to push at the moment that he wants to launch his first salvo in the fight to put Alito on the bench.