When President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court two months ago, her confirmation was seen as a slam dunk. But that was nearly two months ago.
Now, with opinion polls showing a weakened president and critical midterm elections looming -- and with a steady stream of documents from past jobs showing Kagan taking predictably liberal positions --Republicans are poised for a fight.
Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said on Sunday's "Face the Nation" that Kagan has "serious deficiencies," citing her lack of judicial experience and her positions on a number of social issues.
"I think her nomination has real problems that need to be examined," Sessions said.
As her hearings get underway Monday afternoon with opening statements, Republicans made clear they have several lines of attack.
* They will argue she lacks experience, because she has never been a judge or spent much time in the courtroom. Kagan, the former dean of Harvard Law School, became Solicitor General last year and argued six cases in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Obama Administration.
* They will criticize her decision to limit military recruiting at Harvard Law School, where she was dean, because of the Pentagon's Don't Ask/Don't Tell policy. Kagan, like many law school deans, opposed the military recruiters because the policy, which prohibits openly gay soldiers from serving in the military, violated Harvard's anti-discrimination rules.
* And they will try to paint her as a liberal activist, pointing to her memos as a clerk to Justice Thurgood Marshall and later an adviser to President Clinton. In those memos, she says she is "not sympathetic" to gun rights and expresses concern the conservative-leaning Supreme Court will scale back abortion rights.
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