This hearing has something of a modern-day Cinderella quality - as the clock approaches midnight. It seems like many things aren't what they actually appear to be.

The Senator Ashcroft we have come to know over the past six years was an implacable foe of a woman's right to choose . . . of affirmative action . . . of equal rights for gay citizens. He was a determined, tireless and effective advocate for his point of view.

What we have seen over the past four days has in many ways been breathtaking. In Senator Ashcroft's mind, Roe v. Wade is now settled law. Senator Ashcroft not only now endorses the assault weapons ban, he will now lobby President-elect Bush to extend it. He will now apparently have no qualms about aggressively enforcing laws to protect gays and lesbians. He will now apparently enforce the laws and programs on affirmative action that he has opposed for so long.

In the spirit of bipartisanship -- and given all of our pledging to work well together -- I will not characterize what we have seen during the first two days of these hearings as a "confirmation conversion." Let me gently suggest that it is at least a "confirmation evolution."

We have pressed ahead since Tuesday afternoon to hear from the nominee and, by my count, 12 witnesses in support of this nomination and a representative sampling of witnesses strongly opposed to this nomination. We have accommodated every witness that the Republicans have requested to testify and even interrupted our proceedings to hear from the Republican senators and representatives who wished to be heard.

We must conclude today by noon. I am also trying to be respectful of the inauguration that takes place tomorrow. At noon tomorrow, in accordance with Senate Resolution 7, the chairmanship of this committee will revert to Senator Hatch.

I want to thank all of our witnesses, both for and against, for their testimony and for cooperating with the Committee under these extraordinary circumstances. I especially want to thank Congresswomen Maxine Waters and Sheila Jackson-Lee for staying past 9 o'clock on Wednesday night in order to be heard. I want to apologize to the last panel, Professor Dunn and Michael Barnes, for the way the schedule has forced us to cut into their time.

We will now assemble the record and all of the submissions that have been made to it. The members of the Committee should now have the opportunity to review the record and propound written questions to the nominee and to other witnesses.

Once the record is complete and the nominee's paperwork is complete, I will work with Chairman Hatch to schedule prompt consideration of this important nomination by the Committee.

My understanding is that the nominee's financial disclosures and other aspects of the standard submission remain outstanding. For example, we were only provided with a sampling of speeches and writings rather than the comprehensive submission that this Committee has insisted upon in prior years for other nominees.

I note that one of my questions to the nominee was about his speech on judicial despotism, which the nominee had not included in his submission, but which I believe contain inflammatory statements about his view of the role of the courts and is relevant to consideration of this nomination.

The question that I am left with as we conclude today is what will happen when the clock strikes midnight? At the time the Senate votes on Senator Ashcroft, will everything go back to what it was - where the coachmen turn into mice, where the carriage turns into a pumpkin . . . where old policy positions become dominant, and where the John Ashcroft we have seen over the past few days perhaps reverts to the John Ashcroft we knew all these years?

I wish our incoming president had sent the Senate a nomination for Attorney General that would unite us rather than divide us. That did not happen, and our Committee has done the best we could to handle this nomination fairly and fully.

In many ways and on a variety of levels, I have been unsettled by the testimony this week. All of us have a lot of reflecting and soul-searching to do in the coming days as a vote on the Ashcroft nomination approaches.