John Roberts nominated for US Supreme Court position

John G. Roberts (see another bio here) has been nominated by President George W. Bush for the US Supreme Court position to be vacated by retiring US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

The stupidest thing that the Democratic Party could do would be to challenge this nomination. Roberts is a centrist with conservative leanings and is ideally suited for a Supreme Court position both by his superior legal record and by his young age. He is not a political radical of any kind and it is time that the Democratic Party start confirming judicial nominations which are beyond legal reproach. Just because a judge does not share Democratic Party opinions is no reason to withhold approval.

There may be times for partisan politics, but this judicial nomination is not one of them.

Typical for the partisan reporting on this matter are:

- this article by Peter Baker and Jim VandeHei at theWashington Post, which concentrates on irrelevant gossip rather than focusing on the nominee's qualifications.

- this article by Liza Porteus at Fox News showing the political nature of judicial nominations.

CNN is somewhat better.

Better still is the Detroit News, which gives the original material of the White House webcast of the nomination.

The inevitable blog commentary is also well worth a read: see, for example

Al Nye the Lawyer Guy, who cites to Think Progress

The Supreme Court Nomination Blog

Campaign for the Supreme Court

Underneath Their Robes

Wizbang

ACSBlog

Here is a posting that we find to be somewhat strange. Daily Kos writes:

"It does no one any good to be hysterical about Roberts from day one, when we truly don't know who the guy is. We have hints here and there, and some of them are disturbing, but nothing to hang him on.

So we demand a full airing of his views and prepare for what might emerge. If we don't like what we see, then whack. We let loose the artillery. There's a time and place for everything."

Surely, blogging should not be simple witch-hunting, which that statement portends. Many a competent judge or justice will have views that we do not agree with. Judges and Justices are not and should not be chosen simply because they are "yes men". A popular blog such as Daily Kos should have "higher" ideals. Let's all work to make the country and the world a better place, rather than seeing blogging as a place to "whack" our fellows and "loose the artillery". We have enough war already.
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