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You have stellar academic credentials, you
have a stellar record as a professor, and

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you've done an excellent job on the 7th Circuit.
You've been a great mother and wife, you have

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so many options. There are so many things
that you could be doing besides going through

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the first confirmation hearing which was not
pleasant, I was here and I remember it. And

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you knew that this was even going to be more
challenging. So I asked you when we met, why

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would you do this knowing how this was going
to play out? Knowing that you were going to

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be attacked and unfairly treated and I think
to a level of where some of your constitutional

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rights have been questionably denied. Why
are you doing this, Judge Barrett? Why not

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say thanks but no thanks? Let's leave it for
somebody else. Well, as I said to Senator

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Graham yesterday, and I think this was in
part of the conversation that you and I had.

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This is a very difficult process. I think
I've used the word excruciating over the weeks

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and the knowledge that people are going to
say horrible things, that your entire life

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will be combed over, that you'll be mocked,
that your children will be attacked. So one

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might wonder why any sane person would undertake
that risk and that task unless it was for

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the sake of something good and as I said yesterday
to Senator Graham, I do think the rule of

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law and its importance in the United States
and I do think the role of the Supreme Court

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is important, it's a great good, it would
be difficult for anybody in this seat. I think

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everybody knows the confirmation process is
very difficult and so for me to say no, other

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people can do this job but the same difficulty
will be present for everyone. So for me to

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say I'm not willing to undertake it even though
I think this is something important would

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be a little cowardly and I wouldn't be answering
a call to serve my country in a way that I

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was asked. I also think in our conversation,
I said that my children were part of the reason

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not to do it because my son Liam got very
upset yesterday during the questioning and

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so we had to call him in the car. He didn't
stick it out until the end. I was surprised

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he stuck it out as long as he did. But Liam
got very upset at the questioning and Senator

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Kennedy referenced some of the other things
that have happened to the children in the

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process and so I said to you before any of
that happened, that in many ways the children

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are the reason not to do it, but they're also
the reason to do it because if we are to protect

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our institutions and protect the freedoms
and protect the rule of law that's the basis

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of this society and the freedom that we all
enjoy. If we want that for our children and

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our children's children then we need to participate
in that work. I think you're an extraordinary

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role model for a lot of people watching. I
agree with Senator Blumenthal that a lot of

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people are watching this and I hope that every
one of them can conclude that you're a courageous

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person and you're a public servant. I mean,
with your credentials and your experience,

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you could move out of public service and virtually
do anything you wanted to and have more time

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with your family along the way. And the fact
that you're willing to serve is, I think,

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an extraordinary testament to your character
and your integrity and I appreciate you for

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it.