[Dont_Tread_On_Me_888]

You are wrong again.

From an ideaology and timeline standpoint, Rehnquist was the second opening and Alito is the second nominee. Alito is replacing Rehnquist (forget the Chief Justice label).

You are swallowing the MSM angle.

[SpringheelJack]

From an ideaology and timeline standpoint, Rehnquist was the second opening and Alito is the second nominee. Alito is replacing Rehnquist (forget the Chief Justice label).

You are simply, unequivocally wrong. As another poster pointed out, Alito even said at his nomination that he was succeeding O'Connor. I won't bother pressing this, since if Alito's not good enough for you obviously nothing is.

[Allen H]

I understand what you're saying, but you aren't accurate. The Renquist seat became the Roberts nomination when Renquist passed away. o'conner said she would stay till replaced, so at that time, Roberts was no longer the o'conner replacement. Vacancies ALWAYS take precedence over retiring Justices. And it streamlined the process making Roberts both the replacement for Renquist and the CJ so there weren't two hearings on the same person. Granted I would have liked Scalia as CJ, but I can't imagine having Scalia back before the senate with all those flaming libs and gutless wonder RINOs. The Senate has changed MUCHLY since Scalia was last before it. Why take a good decent gentleman like Scalit through the local brothel that is the Senate if it's not necessary? That's what I think.

[romans828]

Here is the relevant portion of the President's statement nominating John Roberts directly for Chief Justice of the United States (emphasis mine):

In his extraordinary career, Judge Roberts has argued 39 cases before the nation's Highest Court. When I nominated him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, he was confirmed by unanimous consent. Both those who've worked with him and those who have faced him in the courtroom speak with admiration of his striking ability as a lawyer and his natural gifts as a leader. Judge Roberts has earned the nation's confidence and I'm pleased to announce that I will nominate him to serve as the 17th chief justice of the Supreme Court.

The passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist leaves the center chair empty just four weeks left before the Supreme Court reconvenes. It is in the interest of the Court and the country to have a chief justice on the bench on the first full day of the fall term. The Senate is well along in the process of considering Judge Roberts' qualifications. They know his record and his fidelity to the law. I'm confident that the Senate can complete hearings and confirm him as chief justice within a month. As a result of my decision to nominate Judge Roberts to be chief justice, I also have the responsibility to submit a new nominee to follow Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I will do so in a timely manner.

here's the url for the entire statement from whitehouse.gov. again, sorry I haven't learned how to create clickthrough links:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/09/20050905.html