Alito blog pokes fun at court nominee

HACKENSACK, N.J. — During his confirmation hearings, Judge Samuel Alito fielded questions on abortion, the right to privacy and Supreme Court precedent.

Over at "his" blog, meanwhile, he's been complaining about a disappointing black-bean soup he had for lunch, lauding the softball questions from Republican senators and e-mailing from his BlackBerry about the "incredibly boring experience, made bearable only because of the sedative I had with breakfast."

Alito's online alter ego is Andrew Case, a New York City employee and playwright who snapped up the rights to Samuel Alito's name on Blogspot.com when the New Jersey judge was rumored to be up for nomination to the high court. Case has been posting pretentious, stream-of-consciousness insights several times a day to http://samuelalito.blogspot.com/, imagining the nominee mocking Democrats and secretly surfing the Web during long-winded speeches.

Case is among a slew of bloggers trying their hand at online political parody. Since last fall, when a first-person Harriet Miers blog skewered that Supreme Court nominee, the ranks of parody blogs have been joined by the fictional ramblings of newsmakers Sen. Tom DeLay, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald and even Saddam Hussein. Although parody has a long tradition in popular culture — think "Saturday Night Live" presidential sketches — the Internet adds a layer of mystery to the medium, as unsuspecting readers briefly wonder: Is this for real?

"Every couple of days, I get an e-mail or a comment from someone who has come across the site and wonders if it's him," said Case, 34. "I respond that it is him and I turn on the whole Samuel Alito pretentiousness. Most of the time they get it."

Case was intrigued by the Miers blog, a giggly, girly glimpse into the White House counsel's head that sounded more like a chatting teenager. When Case learned that Alito could be nominated, he decided to give it a try, figuring he would put up a couple of "I hope they pick me" posts and that would be the end of it.

Several months later, Case is blogging away. He's brushed up on most of Alito's opinions, taught himself Photoshop to put pictures on the site, and posts comments from Alito on other parody blogs. (Last week, Alito asked Fitzgerald, the CIA leak prosecutor, to send him some salami to compensate for the "nightmare" food situation in Washington.)

"It took awhile to create a character. It's a lot like theater," said Case, who lives in Brooklyn.

Even though the sites assume the identities of high-profile people, experts say the bloggers face no legal repercussions.

"This would be problematic only if it was done in such a way that is an intent to deceive," said Alan Tarr, political-science professor at Rutgers University. "Public figures are open to this sort of transparently non-serious spoofing."

Case said he planned to retire after a vote on Alito's nomination, regardless of the outcome.

"My wife said to me the other day, 'You realize if he wins, it's a lifetime appointment,"' Case said. "It's fun for a couple of months, but I think I've had my fill."