As Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito comes under the fire of the Senate Judiciary Committee, his answers offer little more than tiny hints of his political views.

Just as now-Chief Justice John Roberts did during his confirmation hearings, Alito is answering questions without explicitly revealing whether he supports abortion rights or is anti-abortion rights, or how much power he really thinks the president should have.

Those kinds of answers may be frustrating for the senators and citizens who are trying to determine the rulings Alito would hand down in pivotal and controversial cases.

But giving general answers during the confirmation hearings is a completely rational decision. The judiciary is designed to be above politics, so in theory, what Alito thinks about political issues won't matter.

What will matter is how he responds to the specific circumstances in individual cases, which can't be predicted at this time anyway. It would hurt his ability to legitimately and credibly render decisions on cases if he had already given his opinion on the issue in the past.

It also can't be predicted if or how Alito's opinions will change during his tenure on the bench, assuming he is confirmed. A life term is a long one, and people change their minds. Even if he were making his views on particular issues public now, it may not mean much in 10 or 15 years.

The public nature of these hearings does benefit the American people, but the Senate Judiciary Committee is doing the people a disservice by asking the questions we've seen over the past two days.

Rather than asking Alito whether or not he supports abortion rights, the senators should ask him questions such as which past judges he respects and why, and when in history has he seen judges legislate from the bench. Without deviation from the inquiries we are currently seeing, the public will not learn anything about the man who could have the power to change this country for years to come.