As a lawyer and a former debater and debate coach, I can tell you one thing about John Roberts' confirmation hearing:

I don't know if I've heard such a public ass-kicking in a long time.

The guy is good. Listening to Senators on both sides of the aisle bluster around with their case names and prepared research is like watching bulls break shit in a china shop. Roberts' answers are artful, concise, and utterly devoid of anything that could resemble controversy. His tone is respectful and calm and consistent.

There's no point in having Joe Biden (who, by the way, is one irritating dude) ask questions about thirty-year-old Court precedents or the penumbra of liberty rights granted by the 14th Amendment. Instead, he should be asking questions like this:

Judge Roberts, have you ever known anyone who has had an abortion?
Judge Roberts, have you ever contributed money to a political campaign?
Judge Roberts, did you ever disagree on a legal issue with your employers when you were a staff attorney in the Reagan Administration?
Judge Roberts, what would your ideal America look like in twenty years?

Simple, broad questions to get the measure of a man. Pointed jargony obscure legal questions are just not going to work.