Good news for Ga. with Sen. Chambliss chairing Agriculture is tempered by bad news for U.S.A. with the appointment of two abortion foes to Judiciary.

Despite complaints from some conservative-leaning groups, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) will lead the Judiciary Committee. His rise to chairman was imperiled after he made controversial comments following the election that judicial nominees who oppose abortion rights might have trouble winning approval. This seems like good news Sid; what is the bad news?

We hope Sen. Specter wasn't like Faust in having to trade his soul to the devil to get this chairmanship. Assuming he did not, and I do not think he did (entirely anyway), Sen. Specter as Chairman of Judiciary is good news. But such good news is tempered by bad news.

Sen. Frist has appointed Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and freshman Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), two of the new Senate’s strongest opponents of abortion rights, to the Judiciary Committee. Brownback and Coburn are expected to clash with the more centrist Specter.

(The Hill.)