THE US: The fight over the nomination of conservative judge John Roberts to fill a vacancy on the US Supreme Court began even before President George Bush made the formal televised announcement at 9pm on Tuesday.
The news leaked about an hour earlier, after Mr Bush had called leading members of Congress to give them notice of his choice. Immediately the partisan groups that had been preparing for the announcement swung into action, with conservatives hailing the selection and liberals objecting.
But the most telling reaction came from Democrats in the Senate, who responded with restraint, indicating that Mr Bush may have succeeded in finding a candidate who would not be filibustered as too far to the right.
Neither Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, the most senior Democrat on the judicial committee that will consider the nomination, nor Senator Edward Kennedy, the leading liberal voice in the Senate, rejected the nomination outright. Senator Reid acknowledged the nominee had "an impressive legal career" but this did not automatically qualify him "to serve on the highest court of the land".
Senators "must be convinced that the nominee will respect constitutional principles and protect the constitutional rights of all Americans," said Mr Reid. If approved by the Senate, Judge Roberts (50) will replace Judge Sandra Day O'Connor, who has frequently been a swing vote on major issues and who upheld abortion rights in 1992.
Judge O'Connor said yesterday that Judge Roberts was "first rate" though she was disappointed to see the percentage of women on the nine-member Supreme Court drop by 50 per cent. Mr Bush yesterday urged the Senate to provide "a fair and civil process and to have Judge Roberts in place before the next court sessions begin on October 3rd." He said the judge possessed "one of the best legal minds of his generation" and would not "legislate from the bench".
Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter said Judge Roberts would receive "full, fair and complete" hearings and that these would begin in late August. The strongest opposition to the nominee came from pro-choice organisations who fear Judge Roberts will tilt the court against abortion rights. The conservative group, Progress For America, called the judge a "terrific nominee" and said it would start spending an $18 million fund on television commercials to promote Mr Bush's choice.
But doubts were voiced on the far right over the judge's pro-life credentials. Conservative talk show host Ann Coulter called Judge Roberts a "stealth nominee" and warned that he had specifically disassociated himself from his briefs arguing for the repeal of Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalised abortion.
Roberts had breakfast with Mr Bush at the White House yesterday and later began a round of courtesy calls with the senators who will vote on his nomination.
Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee pledged to do everything to complete the confirmation proceedings in Roberts' favour before the court's autumn term begins. Roberts was chosen from an original list of 11 names, several of whom Mr Bush interviewed at the White House last week. He had been teaching an international trade class in London, and flew back and forth to Washington for interviews.
The nomination climaxes four and a half years of planning by the administration to use the first vacancy in the Supreme Court for 11 years to give it a more conservative stamp well beyond his presidency.