Selling Roberts

It may have looked like Judge John Roberts was a last minute choice for the Supreme Court -- what with all the speculation and incorrect leaks the White House put out. But before President Bush set out to sell Judge Roberts to the Senate -- the White House spent a year selling him to social conservatives.

And they had a selling job ahead of them -- as reported in the New York Times:

In hearings for confirmation to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, he had called the original abortion rights precedent "the settled law of the land" and said "there is nothing in my personal views that would prevent me from fully and faithfully applying that precedent."

Polling, focus groups, all the marketing tools available were brought in to make the sale. In the end, the White House relied on Judge Roberts' Catholic faith, his wife's public opposition to abortion, and testimonials from prominent Evangelical figures to sell him to conservatives.

Now the President only has to sell him to the rest of America. (NYT) [Photo Credit: The White House]

Click Supreme Court Image for Judge John G. Roberts Confirmation Information & Links