Kagan: I spent Christmas at Chinese restaurant

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Elena Kagan seem to have an unusually good chemistry.

Throughout his round of questioning, the two exchanged light-hearted comments and jokes - a far cry from other Republicans and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) who have been taking her to task for a range of her past comments and equivocations.

When Graham questioned her about the Christmas Day bomber, Kagan started to answer seriously until he cut her off, asking her instead what she was doing on Christmas Day.

"Like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant," Kagan said, prompting the hearing room to erupt in laughter.

Graham is the most likely GOP senator on the committee who may support her nomination, given his positive comments about her and his support for Sonia Sotomayor last year.

And he kicked off his round of questioning, asking how she would evaluate the confirmation hearings given her past criticism of the process.

When she praised the senators, Graham said: “So it’s all those other guys that sucked not us?"

Graham read from a letter by Miguel Estrada -- who was nominated to an appeals court by President George W. Bush but blocked by Democrats from confirmation -- that praised Kagan lavishly.

Kagan said she was "touched" by Estrada's comments and said Estrada was fit to serve on the court. Graham asked her to write a letter in support of Estrada, which she said she would do.

"Your stock really went up with me," Graham said.

Graham did hit on serious legal issues involving the war on terrorism, and he did praise her for some of the positions she took as solicitor general.

And he noted that he wouldn't take it personally that she leveled fierce criticism at a national security bill he cosponsored in 2005, likening it to something a "dictatorship" would do.

"I'm glad to hear that," she said somewhat sarcastically.

Though he even was inviting some criticism from her, saying, "It would probably help me in South Carolina."

Manu Raju is senior congressional reporter for Politico.