Bush nominee calms both parties

WASHINGTON – President Bush gave the right wing what it wanted: a certified conservative who could tip the Supreme Court to the right. At the same time, he robbed liberals of what they sought: a fire-breathing ideologue who would trigger an epic fight.

In selecting Judge John G. Roberts, Bush sought to put his conservative stamp on the high court for the next generation or so, while making it hard for Democrats to stop him.

With Republicans controlling the White House and the Senate, Bush had the luxury of choosing from a vast selection of conservative candidates. The only question was, how far to the right would he go?

“With some nominees, you might have said, ‘Well, there’s a darn good shot that’s going to be a consensus nominee.’ With others, you’d say, ‘There’s a darn good shot it’s not going to be a consensus nominee.’ He’s in the middle,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

Democrats acknowledged privately that Roberts’ record does not lend itself easily to attack. There will be a fight, they predicted, but it will likely not be nuclear. Certainly, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid did not sound like a man throwing down the gauntlet when he said, “The president has chosen someone with suitable legal credentials, but that is not the end of our inquiry.”

Even the criticism of special interest groups sounded halfhearted. “John Roberts’ record raises serious concerns as well as questions about where he stands on crucial legal and constitutional issues,” said Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way. He expressed disappointment in the pick, but did not call on Democrats to defeat it.

Roberts would replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, a Reagan appointee who often provided the deciding vote in split decisions. Conservative leaders who helped elect Bush made it clear this was payback time: They wanted a nominee with a long and clear record of social conservatism who could tip the court to the right on abortion, gay rights, prayer in schools and other hot-button issues.

They got what they wanted – to a point.

“It’s a home run,” said Wendy Long, a lawyer representing the conservative Judicial Confirmation Network. “The president promised somebody who would strictly apply the Constitution, and that’s what we got in Judge Roberts.”

Conservative leaders said they would have been happier with Bush’s short-list candidates who have longer and clearer record of conservatism, such as Judge J. Michael Luttig of the 4th U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., and Judge Janice Rogers Brown of the U.S. Appeals Court based in Washington.

But they feel they narrowly avoided disaster when rumors spread through Washington that Bush had selected Judge Edith Clement, a federal appeals court judge who is considered more moderate than Roberts.

On the other side of the partisan divide, Democrats were braced to fight tooth-and-nail against Luttig or Brown. The party’s private research memo into Clement grudgingly acknowledged that “it is difficult to discern a strict hard-right ideology” in her.

As for Roberts, the party’s talking points said his thin judicial record noted rulings on abortion, the environment and a few other issues might cause the nominee problems.

Abortion rights groups have maintained that he tried during his days as a lawyer in the first Bush administration to overturn Roe v. Wade. Pressed in 2003 for his personal views on the matter, Roberts said the landmark court legalizing abortion “is the settled law of the land.”

At only 50, he could reshape the court for a generation or more.

There are four death penalty cases for the fall term, and O’Connor was often the key swing vote in capital punishment cases. On abortion, she has also been the deciding vote in striking down laws that don’t have an exception for a woman’s health.

In the near future, Roberts’ selection could change the political dynamics in Washington.

Whether or not the timing was intentional, the announcement shifted attention – for a day, at least – from a CIA leak investigation involving Bush’s closest adviser, Karl Rove, and Vice President Dick Cheney’s top aide, Lewis “Scooter” Libby. Democrats accused the White House of changing the subject.

“It’s interesting how the subject has changed from the White House administrative staff to the court today, isn’t it?” Reid said. Wagging his finger at reporters, he said, “It’s interesting there’s been no questions here about a CIA operative being outed.”