WASHINGTON +â-¡- Baseball umpire, Supreme Court justice. To John Roberts, they are sort of the same.
"Judges are like umpires," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday as the panel opened confirmation hearings on his nomination to become the 17th chief justice and youngest in 200 years.
He pledged to judge "without fear or favor," adding, "I have no agenda. I have no platform.
"Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes," said the 50-year-old appeals court judge. Roberts, a former Reagan administration lawyer, was picked by President Bush to succeed the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.
Roberts sat ramrod straight in his chair in the crowded, ornate Senate Caucus Room. After several hours of preliminary speeches by committee members, it was his turn to speak. A pad of white paper and pencil placed in front of him went unused.
Even before he began, Republicans and Democrats sparred in anticipation of several days of questioning that lie ahead.
"It is not undignified to ask the nominee questions he would rather not answer, should he prefer to remain inscrutable, or worse yet, all things to all people," said Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis.
Several Democrats, aware of the conservative positions Roberts took in legal writings while working in the Reagan White House, said they intended to delve his views on issues such as abortion and civil rights.
"Don't take the bait," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, advised Roberts. "Decline to answer any question you feel would compromise your ability to do your job," Cornyn added, saying that has been the practice of nominees appointed by presidents of both parties.
The debate over the permissible limits of questioning masked deeper differences as the committee began hearings for the first Supreme Court nominee in 11 years.
"The central issue before us in these hearings is whether the Supreme Court will preserve the gains of the past, and protect the rights that are indispensable to a modern, more competitive, more equal America," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., a liberal Northeasterner with more than four decades in office.
Several minutes later, from the other side of the committee dais, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, "To me the central issue is whether or not the Senate will allow President Bush to appoint a strict constructionist to the Supreme Court."
Republicans said in advance the answer to Graham's question was yes+â-¡+â-¡ - and Democrats did not disagree that Roberts was on track for confirmation, barring an unexpected turn of events.
Committee approval seemed assured, possibly by party-line vote, according to several GOP officials. They said they hoped Roberts would pick up the support of some Democrats when his nomination reaches the full Senate. Majority Republicans intend to press for a final vote before the court opens its new term on Oct. 3.
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