@Zaf: not ridiculous at all. The FBI investigated Anita Hill's claims, took 3 days. The fact these allegations are raised during a confirmation process to a federal position makes them a federal matter. This is why another federal body (Judiciary committee) is "investigating" the claims, however un-enthusiastically.
They are old allegations, sure. But this is a lifetime appointment to the safest position in the federal government, and virtually impossible to impeach. The leading cause of leaving the Supreme court is dying of old age. This is also why it is very poor form to try and rush him through, withholding access to pertinent documents for when he was a Republican political operative and other chicanery, against the custom of maximum transparency for a supreme court nominee. There are other issues, such as his likely perjury to Congress and unexplained gambling debts that look an awful lot like money laundering.
For an example of what happens when partisan fervour overcomes choosing great judges, see Clarence Thomas. Jammed in after Anita Hill accused him credibly of sexual harassment, he's asked exactly one question in the last 10 years. His history when he came to the court was also one more consistent with a political activist than legal scholar, and so he's turned out to be.