Dr. Ford seemed to me a highly credible witness (I watched bits and pieces of the testimony), straightforward and almost guileless, not someone who could concoct such an extraordinary story for ulterior purposes.  I've checked with a few other folks, academics and civilians, who had the same reaction.   Given how awful Kavanaugh was on TV the other night, I can't see him redeeming himself.  (I will say the Republicans were smart to have a Ms. Mitchell, the veteran sex crimes prosecutor from Arizona, do the questioning.  Senator Grassley of Iowa can barely speak coherently as it is, it would have been a disaster for the Repugs to have Grassley and Hatch questioning Dr. Ford.)

The real question now is who will be up next.  My bet is either Judge Joan Larsen from the 6th Circuit or Judge Amy Barrett from the 7th Circuit.  But if the Dems take the Senate in the midterm elections, they will need to do everything to pull a Merrick Garland and delay everything until January.

UPDATE:  Well, this isn't over yet.  Judge Kavanaugh is mounting a much more vigorous defense than his tepid TV performance the other night.  Although he's overplaying the "vast left-wing conspiracy out to get me" angle, he is otherwise giving a strong performance on his own behalf.