Cotton Mather.
OK. so he’s dead! Big deal.
I guess it depends on strategy. Bush may decide he needs a big ugly hairy fight over a dependable destructionist to pay off his campaign debt to the Trog Right. It distracts attention and permits them to portray the Dems as obstructionist, which he needs. If he nominates a moderate who sails through, he’s right back in the soup and, worse, the Dems have been accomodating and reasonable.
Or he may risk it and nominate a genuine moderate (as this latest appears to be) so that he appears reasonable, etc. This is risky because the Trogs have already made it clear that its Payday, and they expect a jolly good pandering to. But the Bushiviks may figure that the Trogs have no place to go, and they can suck up in some other way to win them back.
My darkest suspicion is they’ll go for a stealth. Slip in somebody with no clear record to object to but somebody who knows what to kiss, and when. Then at least they can say to the Trog right: Boy, we sure outsmarted them libruhls, huh?
Changed my mind. I think Gonzales and this latest woman were trial balloons. The “pro-life” trogs went nuts both times, so they’ve both been quietly withdrawn the best way possible: by claiming they were never there in the first place.
Which means the Bushiviks have decided that they absolutely cannot afford to alienate the fervently committed base. They will nominate the most reliably anti-RvW candidate on the shorts list.
Which means, of course, that all hell will break loose. But they’ve decided that having us at each others throats is better than having us at his.
Bush likes bold moves, so I supsect it will not be a “compromise” candidate-- a conservative who won’t give the Democrats coniptions. I don’t know exactly who this will be, but expect a Scalia or a Thomas, not an O’Conner.
The hot smart chick who does the SC for Lehrer agrees with me. And John.
Moe Howard.
Nina Totenberg??? Or is there a new one.
AP reporting that it will be John C. Roberts Jr
err John G. Roberts…
Wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_G._Roberts_Jr.
…and it’s already in his Wikipedia entry. Twice, at the moment.
errr well it WAS there 5 seconds ago, I suspect it may be being updated 
Let the filibuster begin! Roberts will not fly and will not be confirmed.
What’s wrong with him?
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050719-1644-scotus-bush.html
“Bush chooses appeals judge John Roberts Jr. for Supreme Court”
His Wiki entry in its entirety as of 19:57 EDT, 7.19.05:
Ghod, I love wiki. 
Guess those officials from the Clinton administration will end up eating their words of support then?
Some officials of the Clinton administration <> Democratic mainstream.
I’m listening to early coverage right now, and this guy is getting rave reviews from both sides. I just heard Jim Warren, who’s no Republican, say he’s a ‘fantastic guy’, ‘born for the bench’, and a ‘brilliant choice’