The death of chief justice Rehnquist and the president's nomination of John Roberts raises the stakes for the court and the American people exponentially.

The nation will be shaped for decades by decisions that are made by President Bush and the Senate about the future of the Supreme Court.

I think John Roberts always was the front-runner for the Rehnquist seat. I would guess that Roberts has been the choice for some time. The only curve was that O'Connor was the person (to retire), not Rehnquist.

Confirming John Roberts would endanger much of the progress made by the nation in civil rights over the past half century.

They need a win. With the exception of [the confirmation of Chief Justice John G.] Roberts, they haven't had a break all year. Just pulling off one of these would slow down the snowball a little.

I guess we're all excited that President Bush announced his nomination to the Supreme Court - John Roberts. Bush searched far and wide before he made the risky choice of a white guy in his 50s,