Richard Arenberg in BBC News, "This is an additional oath above their oath of office - it's to underline that this is different from the partisan and legislative procedures they normally go through. Even beyond the oath to the Constitution when they take office, they need to additionally swear to offer impartial justice in this trial."
Richard Arenberg in The Hill, "Not only has the process been accelerated, but increasingly the minority in the Senate has been cut out of the process. This encourages a president to appoint more partisan and idealogical judges. Until recently, most federal judges were confirmed by voice vote in the Senate: 98 percent of George H.W. Bush's nominees to Circuit Court were confirmed by voice vote..."