If you fear Samuel Alito is more of a revolutionary ideologue than a cautious judge, chances are that you slept pretty well last night.

The Supreme Court nominee didn't wow the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday like John Roberts did in his hearings, but the respectful jurist gave no hint he would use the bench to remake America in his image. Here are prime examples:

ON ABORTION

The conservative wasted no time declaring he has an "open mind" about abortion rights. Going into the hearing, his Reagan-era memos had generated understandable anxiety that he wanted to strike down Roe v. Wade.

Judge Alito also affirmed his belief in stare decisis, which means judicial precedents largely should prevail. That matters because Judge Alito would need a compelling reason to vote to overturn Roe.

He didn't go as far as Chief Justice Roberts in affirming the reasoning in Roe, but Judge Alito was explicit about his preference to uphold the law of the land. His approach should somewhat relieve abortion rights supporters.

ON PRESIDENTIAL POWERS

His views on checks and balances sounded theoretical at times, but the bottom line is that he doesn't think the executive branch should have unchecked authority, even in times of war.

Judge Alito didn't give precise answers on matters like domestic spying, but he didn't come across as a lapdog for presidential authority. That could help him with senators in both parties who are upset over Bush administration power grabs since 9-11.

ON THE ROLE OF JUDGES

Here's the Alito creed: Judges shouldn't inject their own views into interpreting the Constitution and statutes. The judiciary isn't the lawmaking body, he declared.

His answer should reassure those who worry about an Alito agenda. Like Chief Justice Roberts, he emphasized that a judge must apply constitutional principles to the facts of a case. His political views don't matter.

Bottom line: So far, so good.