SCOTUS Watch: It's Roberts

As I note below, the president will nominate John Roberts to the Supreme Court. This is a new thread, I'll keep things going from here. For the run-up to all this, scroll down to the end of the next post.

[Update: Okay. Deep breath. -- 7:51 p.m.]

[Update: Alright. Now we know. The immediate talking points from conservatives are that Roberts will "tip the balance" (suprised?). Toobin says on CNN he's not surprised by this choice, says conservatives are calling Roberts "a one-hundred-percenter." -- 7:57 p.m.]

[Update: AP story. This may be a very tough battle, but I am not certain that Roberts is far enough out of the mainstream to provoke either a filibuster or a particularly nasty confirmation fight. The senators will be ones to watch here; not the interest groups. -- 8:03 p.m.]

[Update: I linked this earlier, but the SCNBlog has some excellent background information on Roberts here. -- 8:05 p.m.]

[Update: Ed Henry says Harry Reid is being "non-committal", issuing a statement saying "The president has chosen someone with suitable legal credentials" and now he needs to show the Senate that he's committed to core American values of "freedom, equality, and fairness." Says that Lieberman recently called Roberts a candidate who would be "in the ballpark." -- 8:08 p.m.]

[Update: Senator Cornyn has already put out a statement praising Roberts. -- 8:20 p.m.]

[Update: CNN is reporting, via WH Communications Director Dan Bartlett, that Bush decided this morning, met with Cheney about it mid-morning, and offered the job to Roberts at approximately 12:35 p.m. today, leaving lunch with Australian PM John Howard to make the call. He then returned to lunch and told his wife and Howard who the nominee would be. Roberts and his wife reportedly came to dinner at the White House tonight with the Bushes. -- 8:22 p.m.]

[Update: Reaction to this so far is predictable. The left is incensed, the right is close to jubilant. The center is worried. --- 8:32 p.m.]

[Update: And by worried, I mean cautious. On CNN, Sen. Jeff Sessions is delighted, says Roberts has "a great intellect." -- 8:35 p.m.]

[Update: Drudge has now gone all out, lots of red lettering and a declaration of war. -- 8:43 p.m.]

[Update: Brit Hume on Fox asks why conservatives should think that Roberts isn't another potential Souter. -- 8:53 p.m.]

[Update: Also on Fox, Mark Pryor says he doesn't know much about Roberts, says he looks forward to looking over his background. He does not have information yet to know if he will have "raised eyebrows" over the nomination. He says Roberts will get "very serious consideration." -- 8:55 p.m.]

[Note: Newer updates on the main page. -- 11:21 p.m.]