Two quotations that capture the mood:

“Long, thoughtful pauses followed by rambling non-responsive answers can easily devour half of a member’s allotted questioning time.” ATL

- O’Melveny & Myers partner K. Lee Blalack II in March, discussing preparing clients for congressional hearings. Goldman Sachs hired Blalack to advise CEO Lloyd Blankfein for yesterday’s Senate grilling.

Hence there was plenty of long, thoughtful pauses followed by rambling non-responsive answers. And:

“It is appropriate to base a judgement on the merits and the facts as they ultimately emerge in full, and not to base a judgement on the ‘evil empire’ theory, which isn’t a question of legality or illegality, but what some in the media prefer to stir up,” Reuters

- Rodgin Cohen, Partner at Sullivan & Cromwell, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference. Interesting Rodgin facts: Cohen has been called “the trauma surgeon of Wall Street” – he has been a key player in the resolution of most major bank failures in recent decades and was on hand as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. gasped its last breaths. He drives a Subaru.

Unfortunately for Goldman, most of the spectators are not lawyers. Therefore, they don’t appreciate the soundness of Blalack’s approach nor are they inclined to follow Cohen’s. Like the media, they prefer to enjoy the spectacle of Goldman being lambasted by politicians despite the merits or the facts.