Simple Metaphors for High Stakes Situations

First Chief Justice Roberts at his confirmation hearing in 2005  with his baseball analogy and now, most recently, at Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing with her Jenga and chess metaphors. It is interesting to note how in high stakes – and often controversial –  situations, speakers invariably reach for metaphors to make their points.
Chief Justice Roberts
You may recall Congress and the public were concerned that a conservative Chief Justice would use his position to color his decisions. Roberts knew he had to defuse that concern and his baseball analogy — well-thought-out and easily grasped by both the public and Congress–helped him do that. In response to how he saw his role, he replied,
“My personal appreciation is that I owe a great debt to others and it reinforces my view that a certain humility should characterize the judicial role.  Judges and justices are servants of the law, not the other way