The Roberts' Box for Democrats

I bet that the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee now wish that they didn't have to vote. If they vote to approve Roberts' nomination, their base will accuse them of falling for a slick sales job from a guy who, in his heart, approves of the bombing of abortion clinics. If they vote against, they will signal in clear terms that no Bush nominee will be acceptable and, thus, invite Bush to reject moderation and nominate a firebreathing conservative for O'Connor's seat. Perhaps for the first time ever, I counsel Democrats to listen to the editorial board of the StarTribune.

This week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearings . . . showed that Roberts is both qualified and fit to serve as chief justice of the United States. Barring any last-minute bombshells, the Senate should confirm his nomination.

Of central importance in confirmation hearings, said Specter, is "for the Senate to engage in a public exploration of the judicial philosophy of Supreme Court nominees." In the committee's inquiry, Roberts came through as an open-minded, mainstream conservative jurist -- a believer in judicial restraint who several times set his philosophy apart from the more doctrinaire approaches of Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.