Judge John Roberts: Liberal, Conservative or Mainstream?

Conservatives were putting a game face on news that Judge John Roberts (search) did some free legal work for gay rights activists.

While they say it won't affect their support for the president's Supreme Court pick, it's clear they're worried that Judge Roberts may turn out to be a liberal Supreme Court justice. At the same time, the Media Research Center looked at NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg's (search) many efforts to tag Judge Roberts as a diehard conservative. Here's a sampling:

"…there's nobody who knows John Roberts who really doesn't think he's a bedrock conservative…" (Nina Totenberg, NPR, July 19, 2005)

"...this is a very, very conservative man." (Nina Totenberg, “Good Morning America,” July 20, 2005)

"…in the Reagan White House, John Roberts was a pretty aggressive, confident, one might even say cocky advocate of very, very conservative positions." (NPR, July 23, 2005)

"He's got adopted children. I mean, he's a conservative Catholic.... a hard-line conservative." (Nina Totenberg, “Inside Washington,” July 23, 2005)

I mean, get the message?

So if liberals find Judge Roberts too conservative and conservatives are afraid he's too liberal, does that mean he's mainstream? Stay tuned.

And that's the Observer.

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