Penultimate Step

When I first heard about this Judge John G. Roberts fellow, he didn't sound too threatening. Sure phrases like "career Republican operative" and "corporate lawyer" raised warning flags, but I figured that he was just a place holder, someone to maintain the Republican majority on the court until Rehnquist dies. Being bereft of any substantial judicial record, Roberts could just as easily turn out not to be a conservative hack. Bush needed to knock Rove off the front pages and Roberts seemed like he'd get some press and be easily confirmed. Then, when his hand was stronger, Bush would try to swing for the fences with the bastard offspring of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. That's what I figured anyway. But E.J. Dionne is worried, and when he's worried, I get worried.