In the latter case, the nominee, already beginning to wonder whether the job is worth the aggravation, meets with the senator to clear up “misunderstandings.” Unfortunately, there may not be any misunderstanding; the senator is simply angry at the administration about something, or dislikes the nominee for something supposedly said or done previously.
任命进入参议院后，真正有趣的阶段才开始。一些参议员会对媒体说“这是个很好的候选者……”或“我有些担心……”。对于后者，被提名人——他已开始迷惑这个职位值不值得如此大动干戈——将与该参议员会面，以打消“误会”。不幸的是，也许根本就没有误会；参议员仅仅是不忿于政府的某些做法，或不喜欢被提名人此前的某些言行。