So intent were the liberal members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to inflict damage on a Reagan nominee that they failed to grasp Bork's most important point.

Even a partial list of Reagan nominees who were either rejected or who withdrew their names under pressure is daunting.

A number of distinguished conservative possibilities are available, many of whom easily could win Senate confirmation - as did Antonin Scalia, an earlier Reagan nominee, last year.

While the Republicans, when they ran the Senate, had some incentive to move Reagan nominees through quickly, the Democrats in charge today do not.

Mr. Lott's reference was to Robert H. Bork, a Reagan nominee for the Supreme Court who was defeated after an bitter battle.

Senate Democrats began the shift when they rejected Robert Bork, a Reagan nominee to the United States Supreme Court.

Two Reagan landslides did not win what Robert Bork, the defeated Reagan nominee, calls the battle for the "legal culture."

As a result of that election, Democrats felt they had a mandate to oppose any Reagan nominee who could be characterized as an extremist.

Mr. Sessions became the first Reagan nominee to fail to advance beyond consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Reagan nominees may have been prohibited from meeting with the Legal Service Corporation before confirmation.