More Reactions to the Roberts Nomination

It's getting fun watching the various reactions to the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court. As I mentioned yesterday (here), the AP published reaction quotes (here) to President Bush's choice for O'Connor's seat on the Court.

Here's what some of the Democrat Senators said:

"I look forward to the Committee's findings so that I can make an informed decision about whether Judge Roberts is truly a guardian of the rule of law who puts fairness and justice before ideology." — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

Oh, of course Hillary wouldn't want a Supreme Court Justice to focus on ideology. Not if it's a different ideology than hers.

"The burden is on a nominee to the Supreme Court to prove that he is worthy, not on the Senate to prove he is unworthy." — Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Kind of like the way the accused has to prove he's innocent in court.

"Without prejudging the nominee, I do believe Judge Roberts' record raises questions about his commitment to the right to privacy, protection of the environment and other important issues." — Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.

"The president had an opportunity to unite the country with his Supreme Court nomination, to nominate an individual in the image of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Instead, by putting forward John Roberts' name, President Bush has chosen a more controversial nominee and guaranteed a more controversial confirmation process." — Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

You can't unite the country when there are senators like Boxer and Durbin who can't wait to divide it.

And from Republican Senators:

"He's the kind of judge that all of us want — someone committed to applying the law impartially rather than legislating from the bench." — Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

"I can't help but think that he will continue to impress as a person of fairness, thoughtfulness and just the kind of judge who will bring a nonpolitical approach to judging. ... I think he's going to be well received." — Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

"I'm hopeful that in the coming weeks we can avoid vicious character assassinations and attacks in this confirmation process." — Sen. George Allen, R-Va.

Fat chance. It's already started.

Finally, Nihilist In Golf Pants has this post on the top 11 reasons John Roberts is outside the mainstream (HT: Chad the Elder at FratersLibertas). A must-read.