We have just seen the next chief justice of the United States, said David Broder in The Washington Post, and he's 'œno conservative ideologue.' In four days of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, John Roberts showed himself to be brilliant, eminently reasonable, and 'œridiculously well-equipped' to lead the nation's highest court. Roberts displayed a first-rate knowledge of the law and Supreme Court precedent, and a thorough understanding of 'œwhat it means to be a judge.' Judges, he said, are constitutional umpires, 'œnot individuals promoting their own particular views.' In defusing hostile questions with his 'œquick wit,' Roberts demonstrated that his temperament is perfect, too. This 'œextraordinary' jurist's only problem is that he's 'œset a standard so high' that President Bush will be hard-pressed to find another like him.
Roberts may have proven he's a clever lawyer, said The New York Times in an editorial, but Democrats should still vote against him. Throughout his questioning, Roberts 'œdodged and weaved' around such divisive matters as church-state separation, gay rights, and abortion. He was worryingly evasive when Democratic senators confronted him with memos he wrote as a lawyer in the first Bush and Reagan administrations, in which he derisively called Hispanic immigrants 'œillegal amigos,' and dismissed the 'œso-called right to privacy' and equal opportunity for women. Roberts claimed these were the opinions of a younger man, and asked the Senate'”and the nation'”to take his word that he's no right-wing ideologue. Well, 'œthat just isn't good enough.'
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