THE REACTION TO ROBERTS #3

NPR's Nina Totenberg: "But John Roberts Is One Of These Extraordinary Men Who Combines An Incredible Degree Of Brilliance, In A Room Of Smart People, As [Former White House Counsel] Brad [Berenson] Said To Me Earlier Tonight, He's The Smartest Guy In The Room, But You Don't Feel Like It." (ABC's "Nightline," 7/19/05)

Totenberg: "When You Combine That Kind Of Just Niceness, With That Kind Of Intellectual Rigor, You're Talking About A Potential For Enormous Influence." (ABC's "Nightline," 7/19/05)

Totenberg: "[T]his Is A Very Shrewd Pick Because John Roberts Has A Huge Number Of Powerful Democratic, Establishment, Legal Friends, Who Will Go To Bat For Him." (ABC's "Nightline," 7/19/05)

Totenberg: "And There Are Already Key Senators Who Have Mentioned [Robert's] Name As The Kind Of Person They Could Vote For." (ABC's "Nightline," 7/19/05)

Totenberg: "And As I Said, I Would - I Couldn't Imagine, Right Now, That He - That John Roberts Won't Be On The Bench On The First Monday In October." (ABC's "Nightline," 7/19/05)

CNN's John King: "The President Sees In John Roberts A Man With The Poise And Political Skills, First, To Handle The Tough Confirmation Fight Just Ahead, And Then To Emerge As An Influential And Conservative Voice On The High Court For A Quarter Century To Come."
(CNN's "American Morning," 7/20/05)

New York Times' David Brooks: "I'm In Love With John Roberts Now ... I Think It's A Great Pick ... I Think He's Sort Of Like The Joe DiMaggio Of The Courts. He's A Modest Guy. He's A Nice Guy. ... He's A Substantive Guy." (MSNBC's "Imus In The Morning," 7/20/05)

Brooks: "Roberts Is Someone Who Has Friends Who Are Liberals, Democrats. I've Never Met Anybody Who Doesn't Like The Guy. So, I Can't Imagine He Won't Get Confirmed." (MSNBC's "Imus In The Morning," 7/20/05)

Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ): "I Think It's Going To Be Calm Because I Think The Personality Of Judge Roberts Is Pretty Calm In And Of Itself." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 7/20/05)

Corzine: "[Roberts Is A] Man Of High Character, He's Got A Good Judicial Temperament. He's An Outstanding Litigator, So I Think He Will Keep The Challenges, The Thrust And Parry That Goes On In The Judiciary Committee On A Calm Level." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 7/20/05)

Corzine: "[Roberts Is] Not A Very Confrontational Man, He's A Very Smart Individual And So I Think On The Basis Of Confrontation, There Won't Be Too Much Of That." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 7/20/05)

Dean Colson, Former Rehnquist Clerk, Lawyer And Friend Of John Roberts: "[Roberts], Over The Last Two Decades, Has Become Probably The Premier Supreme Court Litigator Of Our Generation. It's A Very Elite Field, And He's The Very Best Of The Best." (CNN's "American Morning," 7/20/05)

Colson: "He Is An Extraordinary Intellect. And He Is Noted For His Preparation. He Is Very Careful In His Deliberations And How He Arrives At His Decisions." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 7/20/05)

Colson: "I Think Roberts Is Where Most Of America Is." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 7/20/05)

Fox News' Peter Johnson Jr.: "I Don't Think The President Could Have Picked A Better Candidate In Terms Of Legal Acumen And Legal Experience." (Fox News' "Fox & Friends," 7/20/05)