VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 20, 2005 -- John Roberts is superbly qualified. He has personally litigated 39 cases before the Supreme Court. He may hold the record. He won 25 of these cases. He is one of the most highly regarded judicial scholars in America. Only a far left extremist would oppose him.

I might say that Judge Roberts was at the top of the list of candidates that the staff at the American Center of Law and Justice compiled. However, at the same time, we all thought that the President was going to nominate a woman. So this is an “out of the box” appointment.

Roberts’ confirmation should be assured. If you look at his demeanor, his personal life, his family, everything about him and his measured approach to the law you can see that he will be a Supreme Court Justice who would make all Americans proud. If the liberal Democrats, People for the American Way or left-wing interest groups try to sabotage his confirmation then they are going to have to answer to the American people.

From reviewing what Roberts has said in the past, we do not really know what he will do in relation to abortion. This appointment is not a litmus test on abortion, homosexual rights, or anything else. The question is: will this man faithfully interpret the Constitution and Federal statutes? He has quoted Justice Felix Frankfurter’s instruction to his students; and Frankfurter said, “Read the statute, read the statute, read the statute.” Judge Roberts is going to be strong on statutory interpretation and strong on Constitutional interpretation. He is not somebody who wants to legislate from the bench. This is exactly what the President said that he would give us and he has.