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"I think I have been more forthcoming than any of the other nominees"

...responded Chief Justice Nominee John Roberts, when challenged by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) to answer questions.  Roberts kept recusing himself from issues that he said could come before the Court, Schumer kept accusing the nominee of refusing to answer questions on day three of his nomination hearings. 

This dance was repeated throughout the day with senators Kennedy and Biden, too, as the hearing tackled media access, international law and the right to die, among other issues. I disagree with accounts I've read that Roberts is having an easy time of it -- just listen to the audio in the right-hand margin here -- although I would agree that none of it is likely to tax Roberts' legal intellect.

Though I was cracking jokes myself earlier, I was sad to see the hearing end today with the kind of light-hearted banter you can expect from two people whose privilege and position has insulated them completely from the rest of this week's headlines. I'm talking about a mutual, made-for-the-soundbite Hollywood analogy, pitched by the Senator from New York who made the most of his prime newsmaking opportunity to close the hearings, and slammed home by Roberts, who delivered the kind of quick-witted answer you'd expect from a nominee sophisticated enough to open his hearings with analogies to American baseball.  I can't find a transcript of the tail end of this hearing yet, but Schumer essentially turned his complaint about Roberts' reliance on stare decisis into a yarn, saying, hey, if I asked you what movies you liked, you'd say movies with good acting, but you wouldn't tell me what movies! Roberts shot back -- after asking the chair, Arlen Specter, not to recess until he'd answered -- with direct answers: The movies Dr. Zhivago and North by Northwest.

The Guardian says there's little doubt how this particular saga will end: "Roberts Heads Toward Likely Confirmation.

What do you think?

Posted by Jennifer Moline on September 14, 2005 at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

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