Last night I promised further explanation of how the Mukasey confirmation vote is likely to go down in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Paul Kiel provides the details.

Basically it comes down to this. There are a few different ways the nomination could get to the Senate floor even if the Judiciary Committee votes against recommending Mukasey for confirmation. But a spokesperson for committee chairman Pat Leahy (D-VT) tells us to expect a straight "yes-no" vote in committee.

So as of this moment, it comes down to Leahy, Kohl, Feinstein, Feingold, Schumer, and Cardin--the six Judiciary Committee Dems who have yet to announce their intentions. That's assuming no Republicans on the committee break ranks, which appears unlikely.