President Makes Nomination

President Bush nominates John G. Roberts, Jr... I am going to research Judge Roberts some more but at first blush I have no problem with the nominee -- in fact, my first reaction would be that this is a good pick. (Some excerpts from Fox News)

Roberts, 50, is a conservative who currently sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A former clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, his name has been floated for months as a possible Bush selection for the high court.

Bush announced the nomination to the American public at 9 p.m. EDT - with Roberts appearing alongside the president.

Speaking from the East Room, Bush said Roberts is "widely admired for his intellect, his sound judgment and personal decency.

"The decisions of the Supreme Court affect the life of every American. And so a nominee to that court must be a person of superb credentials and the highest integrity, a person who will faithfully apply the Constitution and keep our founding promise of equal justice under law," Bush said.

"I have found such a person in Judge John Roberts. And tonight I am honored to announce that I am nominating him to serve as associate justice of the Supreme Court."

Roberts, who will have to re-sell himself to the Judiciary panel that voted for him 16-3 in 2003, said that he was honored to be nominated.

"Thank you very much. It is both an honor and very humbling to be nominated to serve on the Supreme Court. Before I became a judge, my law practice consisted largely of arguing cases before the court. That experience left me with a profound appreciation for the role of the court in our constitutional democracy and a deep regard for the court as an institution," Roberts said.

"I always got a lump in my throat whenever I walked up those marble steps to argue a case before the court, and I don't think it was just from the nerves," he added.

John G. Roberts Jr. (Google News) -- About John G. Roberts Jr.