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Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (37165)	7/19/2005 8:19:49 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Bush to Nominate Judge John G. Roberts Jr. By Jim VandeHei, Fred Barbash and William Branigin Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, July 19, 2005; 7:53 PM President Bush has chosen John G. Roberts Jr., a federal appeals court judge, as his nominee to fill the first Supreme Court vacancy of his presidency, news services reported tonight. Roberts, 50, a former official in the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan, currently serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Word of the nomination leaked out in advance of a nationally televised ceremony in the East Room of the White House in which Bush planned to introduce his choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has announced her intention to retire. The announcement came after a day of intense speculation on the identity of Bush's nominee to be the first new Supreme Court justice in 11 years. The White House announced earlier in the day that Bush had made up his mind on a replacement for O'Connor, 75, who declared on July 1 that she would retire upon the confirmation of her successor by the U.S. Senate. The nomination carries high stakes politically because justices are lifetime appointees whose decisions can affect major national issues for decades. With Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist determined to stay on despite a battle with thyroid cancer, the retirement of O'Connor gave Bush his first chance to leave his mark on the high court. O'Connor, an appointee of president Ronald Reagan, was the first woman to be named to the court, and Bush lately had come under pressure -- from his wife, among others -- to appoint another woman to replace her. One potential replacement whose name was bruited about today was Edith Brown Clement, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans. But as the day wore on, White House sources were cautioning against such speculation. Among the men whose names remained in the mix before Bush's decision were Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson and federal appeals court judges J. Michael Luttig and Emilio Garza. Bush himself was noncommittal earlier in the day as he took questions from reporters after a meeting with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Asked about replacing O'Connor with another woman and whether he has finished interviewing candidates, Bush said, "I have thought about a variety of people, people from different walks of life, some of whom I've known before, some of whom I had never met before." He added to laughter from reporters, "I'm trying to figure out what else I can say that I didn't say yesterday that sounds profound to you without actually answering your question." He concluded, "I'll let you know when I'm ready to tell you who it is." He did not answer a subsequent question specifically about Clement. The Senate minority leader, Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), said before Bush's announcement that the Senate confirmation process could go relatively quickly if the president selected "a noncontroversial candidate." In that case, Reid said, confirmation could be completed by Oct. 1, in time for the Supreme Court's next session. The Senate's top Democrat also noted that all the talk about a Supreme Court nominee had pushed aside a growing controversy over the role of Karl Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff and Bush's top political strategist, in the leaking of a covert CIA agent's identity. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the majority whip, told reporters that the Senate owes the public "a respectful process during the committee hearings and the floor consideration" of Bush's choice. He said Bush went through "unprecedented" consultations before making his pick and that "a clear majority of the Senate was consulted during this process."