If he [John Roberts] is a Miguel Estrada and just refuses abjectly to answer everything, it would make a filibuster more likely,

I think you can put up John Roberts' ideological twin and you'd get a filibuster at this point. Their base is demanding it. I think unless the person has written extensively about Roe [in a positive way], you're going to get a filibuster. And that's unlikely. I just think a filibuster is going to happen.

I knew in advance what they were going to say about John Roberts. They were going to say that he was a threat to these rights. That he was out of the mainstream, and they said that before they had ever researched his record. Doesn't matter.

I am not saying I will vote against John Ashcroft because he is pro-life, ... But let me say if someone was nominated for attorney general who was vehemently pro choice -- who in his or her career spent decades trying to find ways to expand the law abortion at nine months would be perfectly legal -- wouldn't you be more upset and raise more of a voice than against a nominee who was simply pro-choice?

It was a strong and nice statement, but didn't answer the fundamental question what kind of justice will he be.

John Roberts and I worked on a response to that letter