The death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist has catapulted nominee John Roberts into the Supreme Court spotlight as his potential successor. While some political leaders expound upon Roberts's intelligence and capability to fill this important position, some opponents have mixed feelings on whether or not he is worthy of this powerful office.
According to The Washington Post, Democratic officials believe that Roberts' conservative tendencies will undercut some of the Court's most influential legislation, particularly the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, and are not satisfied with his noncommittal responses on such significant social issues.
For Politics Assoc. Prof. David Klein, Roberts' unwillingness to respond to some of the more controversial political issues was the safest way to avoid opposition during his nomination hearings.
"What he's doing is pretty normal at this point," Klein said. "The best strategy is to be vague, and the last several nominees have all done it. In order to be able to vote against someone, you have to be able to show there is something wrong with them -- that they are too far out there -- but if you refrain from saying anything, then it can't be used against you. He can only hurt himself by being specific."
According to Klein, party ideology is a large factor in determining which groups will support Roberts's nomination; Klein, however, said this should not be the most important factor in determining Roberts' overall ability.
"It's clear that he's an overly-able lawyer and will be able to do the job well," Klein said. "He will have to make important policy decisions, and ideology is going to play a major role."
Third-year Commerce student Garret Berger said he thinks Roberts has proven to be a worthy candidate for the nomination because of his educational background.
"There are very few people who would be capable of filling this role, and everyone believes that he's more than qualified for the position," Berger said. "None of us really knows what he stands for, but regardless of ideology, we have to recognize his amazing intelligence."
Roberts' conservative base and especially his inability to comment on such issues as abortion, however, remains a concern for third-year Engineering student Ryan Dougherty.
"My concern is that he'll overturn the Roe versus Wade decision," Dougherty said. "He's a Roman Catholic, so he tends to be more conservative, but I'd rather have him take more of a liberal view of social issues."
Other students, such as second-year College student Jenna Taylor, understand his silence on particular issues, and hope that he will prove to be a worthy candidate if elected to the office.
"I think that Roberts could eventually successfully occupy this position, but he has some big shoes to fill," Taylor said. "Right now he just wants to win the public's approval. We'll see how he conducts himself when he's in office"
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