Readers of this site will not be surprised at all that in 2008 Mitch McConnell sang a very different tune on confirming SCOTUS nominees during the last year of a President's administration. WaPo:

Speaking during a Senate session in July 2008, Sen. Mitch McConnell criticized the concept of the "Thurmond Rule" which some suggest allows senators to oppose the president's judicial nominations in the months before a presidential election. McConnell said Feb. 13 that the vacancy left by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia should not be filled until after the presidential election.

There is no Thurmond Rule, said McConnell. "Senator Specter has researched that thoroughly."