Alito’s prospects

Ed Whelan predicts that Judge Alito will be voted out by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a straight party line vote of 10-8. Ed says there will be no filibuster, and that Alito will be confirmed with 55 to 65 votes. I say the number will be roughly 55, and the breakdown will approximate what we saw when Priscilla Owen, William Pryor, and Janice Rogers Brown were confirmed last year.
Even with a John Roberts style performance before the Judiciary Committee, Alito won’t get more than 60 votes, in my opinion. A terrible performance might cost him confirmation, but the odds against such a performance are prohibitive.