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He breezed through his nomination hearings for Assistant Attorney General in May 2001. Only one Senator voted against him: Hillary Rodham Clinton. Her animus is as much personal as political, based on his role in the Whitewater investigation.
By the time the President nominated him to sit on the Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit on March 5, 2003, the Democrats were playing judiciary politics. He didn't get a hearing until May 7, 2003, as the Democrats, especially Ted Kennedy, tried in vain to dig up dirt (same old issues: racial profiling; being insufficiently nice to terrorist suspects; the whole Patriot Act game). They failed to tar him, and he was confirmed 13-0 on May 22, 2003 (six senators voted "present").
The full Senate voted on June 9, 2003, confirming Chertoff by a vote of 88 to 1. The one vote against? Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Eleven senators did not vote. For some, it might have been politics (Edwards and Kerry, for example), but for most it was likely because they weren't in town or didn't bother to vote. Ted Kennedy, by the way, was one of the "yea" votes, so whatever concerns he might have had were addressed.
Looking forward, though, I don't know what lessons may be drawn. The Democrats are looking for a way to tarnish the Administration so as to weaken any claim to a mandate after the November elections. They've been slinging mud pretty much constantly - notably at Rumsfeld and Al Gonzales - but haven't had much success (Kerik's withdrawal was as much a surprise to Democrats as Republicans).
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