The Confirmation "Kabuki Dance"

On a mailing list I administer, we're having a nice little roundtable on John Roberts, so I thought I'd share our collective wisdom for your edification (in chronological order):

First up, law school friend shared his letter to our US Senator:
In a few short days you will be asked to vote on the confirmation of Judge John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States. As a constituent, however small and insignificant that may be, I would like to express my desire that you vote to confirm him.

Although I have generally stood for liberalism, the Democratic Party and generally against the seemingly endless displays of selfishness and insensitivity of the Bush administration, I am confident that John Roberts is a great candidate for any seat on the Supreme Court. If there is any doubt about how he will do his job after the confirmation hearings (in which he is doing an excellent job), history gives us little to fear.

Since the beginning of this country, Presidents have tried to stack the Court with nominees who they believe will espouse the views of their parties and themselves, but almost universally to their chagrin. Instead, due to the unwavering commitment to the Rule of Law by the Justices, it has been almost impossible to determine how any given individual will rule on a number of issues. Even the Court's most conservative Justice, Antonin Scalia, rules on cases according to their legal merit and not due to his own personal and religious beliefs. He has spoken and written extensively on this issue.

Both history and the present lead me to believe, then, that although Judge Roberts may have been nominated during an extremely polarized time in our political history, and by one of the country's most uncompromising administrations, he is still a wonderful candidate for the position of Chief Justice. I hope that you will consider his qualifications outside the scope of simply the political, and instead consider him as a great legal scholar and judge. I believe he will serve this country well for many years to come.