It's Roberts

And now the sharpening of knives begins. John Roberts was picked by President Bush to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Roberts has had brief experience on the federal bench, serving on a Federal Appeals court since 2003. At that time, his nomination was approved 16-3 by the Senate Judiciary Committee after a contentious "3-for-1" confirmation hearing which also included two other nominees. The full Senate approved his nomination by a voice vote. Roberts would have been on the bench earlier except for the fact that his 1992 nomination was never granted a hearing and his 2001 nomination was scuttled by Senate Democrats. Should be interesting to see if the Democrats who approved Roberts then will try to backpedal now. Alliance for Justice has a little bio here (hint: they're against him), and here too. On the other hand, over 100 members of the DC bar - including Clinton Administration members - signed a letter advocating his earlier appeals court nomination. Looks like a long, hot August.