John Kerry: “we all know there are few things the Senate does which are as important as confirming a Supreme Court Justice, let alone…”

“we all know there are few things the Senate does which are as important as confirming a Supreme Court Justice, let alone the Chief Justice of the United States. We know that making the decision to support or oppose the nomination is both serious and complicated. We do not need to belabor those points. What we do need to talk about is what kind of process ought to occur, must occur, before a Senator can vote for or against a judicial nominee. What kind of information should be provided? What kind of discourse should we engage in? I met with Judge Roberts last week. I must say I enjoyed our conversation enormously. He is earnest, friendly, incredibly intelligent, and on a personal level I liked him. He has dedicated his life to the law, has given back to the legal community, and is certainly beyond question a superb lawyer. It may turn out he will be an outstanding Chief Justice. But I can't say with confidence that I know on a sufficient number of critical constitutional issues how he would rule or what his legal approach would be. I have read memos he wrote during the Reagan administration. I have reviewed the limited materials available from his time in the Solicitor General's office, where he worked under Ken Starr, and then in private practice at Hogan and Hartson. I have read the cases he participated in on the DC Circuit. I have listened to as much of the Judiciary Committee hearings as I could and I have reviewed transcripts where I couldn't.…”