Supremes: Roberts--And Then The Real Battle
The confirmation battle over Judge John Roberts is about to take center stage. George W. Bush quickly nominated Roberts to serve as chief justice--a move the president had considered all along, according to one adviser close to the process who refused to be quoted because of the sensitivity of the deliberations. Roberts could face some tougher questioning as chief, but barring bombshells, the hearings could turn out to be a drama fit only for C-Span junkies.
Far more compelling is the battle among conservatives over who'll fill Sandra Day O'Connor's spot. In a new NEWSWEEK Poll, 66 percent of those surveyed said Bush should strongly consider choosing a woman; 60 percent suggested he choose a black or Hispanic. Bush himself teasingly stirred up speculation last week by singling out his friend, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, as a contender. Last spring, after Gonzales also surfaced on the White House shortlist, social conservatives launched a lobbying campaign against him. According to two sources close to Gonzales who did not wish to be quoted about the private discussions, Gonzales was "highly ambivalent" about joining the court. Just as he warmed to the idea, he was attacked by the right. "He was stung by the criticism," says one confidant. But Gonzales has become more enthusiastic. "Some of the terror of confirmation is gone, and I think he would like to be on the court now," says the source. This time around, Gonzales has authorized friends to rebut criticism on his behalf. "The conservative opposition to Gonzales is based on ignorance and a lack of information," says former White House lawyer Bradford Berenson.
Gonzales's critics are changing tactics, too. According to one conservative activist who did not want to speak publicly about his talks with the White House, some are quietly suggesting Bush nominate Gonzales--but only after liberal Justice John Paul Stevens, 85, retires. Democrats hope sagging poll numbers may force Bush toward a more moderate pick. "We are saying exactly what we said before O'Connor," says one Democratic Senate aide who requested anonymity to speak more freely about the process, "but the political reality is, his numbers are low." Many of the names being floated are either women or minorities. Bush has hinted that he'd consider a candidate without judicial experience--perhaps opening the way for former deputy attorney general Larry Thompson, an African-American corporate lawyer who's never been a judge. Fifth Circuit Judge and fellow Texan Priscilla Owen was just confirmed by the Senate this spring. Sixth Circuit Judge Alice Batchelder, Fifth Circuit Judge Edith Jones and Washington lawyer Miguel Estrada are also being mentioned. Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who spoke with White House counsel Harriet Miers last week, says no definitive decision on the timing of a new pick has been made but it will likely come after the Roberts nomination reaches the Senate floor.
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Debra Rosenberg was named Assistant Managing Editor in October 2006. She oversees the magazine's coverage of health, medicine, education, family, society and ideas stories. She has also recently written a profile of former Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor and a cover story on gender identity, "Rethinking Gender."
Previously, Rosenberg served as Deputy Washington bureau chief and National Correspondent. In addition to helping manage the Washington bureau and its news coverage, she reported on social issues, national affairs and politics. She has covered Supreme Court rulings, stem cells, gay marriage and abortion as well as two winter Olympic Games.
Rosenberg also served as Newsweek's White House Correspondent from 1998 to 2001. She covered the tumultuous final years of the Clinton administration, reporting on the impeachment of the president, the 1998 midterm elections, NATO's war in Kosovo and Clinton's travels around the globe. During the 2000 campaign, Rosenberg covered First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's historic race for the Senate in New York.
Before covering the White House, Rosenberg was a correspondent in the Boston bureau. In 1996, as a member of Newsweek's Special Projects Team, Rosenberg covered Bob Dole's presidential campaign for a special election issue, gaining special access to Dole and his top advisers. She uncovered never-before-reported details and shared the inside story of the former senator's troubled White House bid. The 60,000-word special issue was expanded into "Back From the Dead: How Clinton Survived the Republican Revolution," a book published in 1997.
Rosenberg joined Newsweek in April 1990 as a reporter in the Boston bureau and was named a correspondent in 1994. She received an M.S. in Journalism in 1989 from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and graduated from Wellesley College in 1988 with a B.A. in English. She lives with her family in New Jersey.
Klaidman, a former NEWSWEEK managing editor, is writing a book on President Obama and terrorism to be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2012.
Stuart Taylor joined Newsweek as a contributing editor in January 1998, writing on legal issues. He was a finalist for the 1997 National Magazine Awards for his article on Paula Jones' sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. Since November 1997, Taylor has also been an opinion columnist for National Journal, where he writes a weekly column.
Before Taylor began working for Newsweek and National Journal, he had been a senior writer with American Lawyer Media, which owns The American Lawyer magazine and several weekly and daily legal newspapers, including Legal Times. He wrote a weekly opinion column for seven weekly and daily newspapers, focusing on legal-political issues on the national level. He has also previously written in-depth feature articles and essays for The American Lawyer. Taylor has been a guest on broadcasts for ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, PBS, C-Span and National Public Radio.
His journalism honors include two nominations as a finalist for a National Magazine Award (1997 and 1993), a shared National Magazine Award given to The American Lawyer in 1991 for Best Single Issue (for a March 1990 special issue on the war on drugs), the 1991 Golden Quill Award for Excellence in Editorial Writing from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors, a special citation in 1990 from the Penn State School of Communications for improving journalism through critical evaluation and a nomination by The New York Times in 1988 for a Pulitzer Prize for his supreme court coverage.
Taylor was a legal affairs reporter from 1980-1985 and Supreme Court reporter from 1985-1988 in the Washington bureau of The New York Times. Prior to that post, he was a lawyer with Washington's Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering from 1977-1980. He graduated from Princeton University in 1970 with an A.B. in History, and from Harvard Law School in 1977, where he was a member of the law review. He lives in Washington with his wife, Sally Lamar Ellis, and their two daughters.
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