He has argued many cases before the supreme court, winning a decent percentage.

He has a reputation as a brilliant legal thinker.

He is widely respected by both sides of the political spectrum. More so on the right than on the left, but that's because he is a solid conservative and originalist.

I really don't want to see a huge fight. I get as sick of it as the next guy.

As far as helping steal an election, for those that want someone along the lines of O'Connor, that fits right in, then. :) Of course, Ted Olson might have been a good choice along those lines, too.

62%, wasn't it?

He'll go in. He'll get questioned but he'll go in.

I wish he had more experience as a judge, though.

Actually I'm surprised Mr. Bush didn't pick someone much more controversial to pull some pressure off the Rove story

Well, they did move the announcement up by almost two weeks to try to knock it out of the news.

I think that this is about as moderate a choice as we could ever hope to expect out of Bush and bitching about him isn't going to do much good anyway. He is going to get confirmed. Let's not take too much attention away from Rove and Co. The story is getting far more interesting each day. Meanwhile, we can prepare for what is going to be a huge battle when Rehnquist steps down.

Actually, I'm hoping that Schumer and Kennedy and Boxer go so nuts during hearings that it's like the boy who cried wolf, so that when they're done, Ann Coulter could get Rehnquist's spot. :evil: (I am quite disappointed with Ann, though, as I think bush made a fine choice and she has been very critical.)

Ann? Critical?

That's the plan, is it? Hope the left shoots its wad fighting against what passes for a moderate in this strange new millennium and then punch 'em in the mouth when Rehnquist retires. Crafty. Or not.



Oh, and someone should tell Roberts to not take it personally -- Ann doesn't really like anybody. Frankly, it's the only aspect of her I find appealing. I'd do her but it'd be one of those "why are you still here?" type deals.

Heh heh, isn't that what politics is about - it's never about the issues, but who wins

The issues are boring. Give me a 15 second sound bite from some Senator talking about Nazis. And a little T&A from the news anchor, please.

I would be very surprised if they do. Sure they will ask some tough questions, especially considering the anti Roe vs. Wade remarks he has made but ultimately, their best bet would be to quickly approve him without much of a ruckus. It's not worth it just yet. Besides, Rehnquist doesn't seem ready to go anywhere for a while, even though Robert Novak keeps trying to report that he is. Maybe Rehnquist will stick it out for another 3 years and Roberts will end up being more moderate than anyone realizes. Stranger things have happened and that would be fun to watch. :)

Yeah, MBC - the dems best strategy, as I see it, is to approve Roberts without any votes against. This way, should Rehnquist (or Stevens, for that matter) retire, they can oppose anyone vehemently with Roberts as evidence that they don't just oppose everyone Bush offers up.