I tuned in to watch a repeat of
House as I gave my nephew, Davis his breathing treatment last night and instead got to see President Bush's announcement about his nominee to fill the Supreme Court seat vacated by outgoing justice Sandra Day O'Connor. As I watched the introduction of John Roberts, Jr and heard Bush give a bit of his background, I found myself scratching my head and going--so, who is this guy? I'd skimmed by some talking heads earlier in the evening, citing Robert's resume to this point and why he was chosen. And I'm sure as the days and weeks unfold, we'll find out more about Roberts than we ever wanted to know, including what he ate for breakfast on day he was introduced as a nominee and what radio station he listened to driving into the White House for the big national press conference.
I have to admit that I am not a huge follower of the national judicial circuit. I doubt there are judicial member trading cards out there that list cases they've heard or positions they've held or important opinions they've rendered. So, to me, Roberts is a bit of a mystery. And I know that we heard Bush's reasons for why he chose Roberts last night. And I'm sure as the weeks unfold we'll hear more about it, as well as numerous reasons why he shouldn't be confirmed from the opponents. But as I watched, I found myself wondering--did anyone else have this same reaction? Did you scratch your head and go, "OK, but who is this guy?"
I hate to say it, but in my world, I can tell you more about Travis Henry, the new Titan's running back than I can about this nominee to the Supreme Court. But which of these two is going to have a bigger overall impact on my life over the next couple of years--Henry, who won a national championship for the Vols and got screwed by a lesser running back in Buffalo or Roberts, who could make sweeping Constiutional interpretations that will become the law of the land.
On that note, I was intrigued by a couple of articles in this morning's
Tennessean. One talked about
the role that Bill Frist now has in trying to win confirmation for Roberts. Another was about
the reaction of some legal scholars and lobbyists here in Middle Tennessee. And I'm sure as the days and weeks go along, my fellow bloggers will fill my computer screen with information on Roberts, his background and why they think he should or shouldn't be confirmed to the high court...
posted by Michael Hickerson at 7/20/2005 10:31:00 AM |
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