SCOTUS Watch: Announcement Tonight

President Bush will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court at 9 p.m. tonight.

[Update: Along with the links I suggested earlier, Bench Memos is updating with links and background on Clement. The working assumption at this point appears to be that she is the nominee, but nothing has been confirmed. -- 1:15 p.m.]

[Update: Wonkette notes that the White House has cancelled today's regularly scheduled press briefing: "they're finally feeling sorry for Scotty." -- 1:29 p.m.]

[Update: To give credit where due, I want to recognize Bob Franken's correct prediction from earlier today (see the previous post) that the president would be asked about the Supreme Court this morning, not Karl Rove. Here's the first question he got, and his response:

"Q Thank you, Mr. President. Can you tell us, as you consider Supreme Court nominees, how important it is to you to replace Justice O'Connor with another woman? And can you bring us up to date on whether you've completed interviewing candidates?

PRESIDENT BUSH: First, I'm comfortable with where we are in the process. That's important for you to know. Secondly, that I have thought about a variety of people, people from different walks of life, some of whom I've known before, some of whom I had never met before. I'm trying to figure out what else I can say that you - I didn't say yesterday that sounds profound to you without - without actually answering your question. (Laughter.)

As I say, I do have an obligation to think about people from different backgrounds, but who share the same philosophy, people who will not legislate from the bench. That's what I told the people when I ran for President. I want to be known as the kind of person who does what he says he's going to do and - because I believe it's right. And so, I guess the best way to put it is, I'll let you know when I'm ready to tell you who it is."

But Franken was only half right. Here's question numero dos:

"Q Thank you, Mr. President. In light of the concerns that the CIA leak investigation is distracting from your agenda, has Mr. Rove or any of your aids offered their resignation? And what, short of a crime, constitutes a firing offense?

PRESIDENT BUSH: You know, I appreciate you bringing that up. My answer really hasn't changed - (laughter) - from 24 hours ago. It's the same answer. Now, I'll be glad to answer another question if you've got one. I - I mean, I'll be glad to repeat what I said yesterday, which is, there's an ongoing investigation and people shouldn't jump to conclusions in the press until the investigation is over. And once the investigation is over, I'll deal with it."

The president then asked the reporter if she had another question, since he didn't answer that one, and this was the reply:

"Q What do you think of Edith Clement for the Court?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, well, I think it's important - let me refer you back to the first question. (Laughter.)" [Transcript here, video link at the left side of the page].

The reaction from liberals and conservatives at the possibility of a Clement nomination continues to intrigue me greatly. Some from the middle are getting into the act over at Centerfield as well, so stop by there too. -- 1:48 p.m.]

[Update: A reminder. Don't get excited about the prospect of Clement. It might not happen. As Erick at RedState is pointing out, we could be seeing an elaborate bait and switch. Ugh, the drama. -- 2:12 p.m.]

[Update: Supreme Court Nomination Blog says Specter's staff "just sent this note around the Senate": "The October 4, 2001 confirmation hearing for Edith Clement is available full text online. See S.Hrg. 107-584, Pt. 1 on GPO Access http://www.access.gpo.gov/congress/senate/senate14ch107.html. This includes submissions to the record, any follow-up questions, and her questionnaire." -- 2:55 p.m.]

[Update: To the last update, this from SCNB: "We're helpfully advised that a committee staff member sent the email around because of the large number of requests received for information on Clement, no more." -- 3:33 p.m.]

[Update: More from Erick at RedState. This really is getting more and more like the day of Rehnquist rumors every second. Now he's saying that Senate Judiciary Committee staffers are steering people away from Clement. Argh. -- 4:09 p.m.]