I complained on Monday that the Senate Judiciary Committee is not holding a hearing into whether Elena Kagan is suited to sit on the highest court of the land, but rather offering senators of both parties an opportunity to grandstand while the cameras are rolling. Senators aren’t asking tough questions, and Kagan isn’t providing penetrating answers. But who could have guessed how quickly the proceedings would devolve from mere theater into farce? After Kagan indicated she was a leading legal mind who apparently had no political views whatsoever, and not much more in the way of judicial philosophy, Senator Amy Klobuchar asked her to take a stand on the really contentious issue of our era: Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Noting the “incredibly grueling day” Ms. Kagan had on Tuesday, Ms. Klobuchar remarked, “I guess it means you missed the midnight debut of the third ‘Twilight’ movie last night.” After some laughter, she added: “We did not miss it in our household, and it culminated in three 15-year-old girls sleeping over at 3 a.m.”

Ms. Kagan said she was not able to see “Eclipse,” but Ms. Klobuchar nonetheless continued, “I keep wanting to ask you about the famous case of Edward versus Jacob or the vampire versus the werewolf.”