Washington’s gearing up for SCOTUS nominee John Roberts’ hearings on Tuesday. A few handy links:

- Bush nominates Roberts to fill Rehnquist’s shoes.

The president met with Roberts in the private residence of the White House for about 35 to 40 minutes on Sunday evening, then officially offered him the job at 7:15 a.m. Monday when Roberts arrived at the Oval Office.

“This had been something that had been in the president’s thinking for some time _ in case the chief justice retired or that there otherwise was a vacancy,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. “The president when he met with him, knew he was a natural born leader. The president knew Judge Roberts had the qualities to lead the court.”

- The wires have a “guide to the John Roberts hearings,” with brief biographical info, Senate Judiciary Committee tidbits, and the “Michael Jackson connection.”

- WaPo analysis declares “Roberts Hearings Likely to Enter Religious Territory.”

- Reuters says there’s still talk of delaying the hearings because of Hurricane Katrina. The Hill reports same. [11:50am EDT update: There will be a brief delay of the hearing.]

- The witness lineup includes John Dean vs. Charles Fried, and more:

Thirty witnesses have been scheduled to speak at Roberts’ confirmation hearings — 15 chosen by Republicans and 15 by Democrats. The GOP released its list Thursday, and it includes former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, Jennifer Braceras and Peter Kirsanow from the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and Juneau Mayor Bruce Botelho.

Democrats will counter with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who participated in the civil rights struggles that helped secure passage of the law in 1965; Carol Browner, the longest serving EPA administrator; and [Dean]…

- Law professor Cass Sunstein says Roberts is “conservative, but he’s no fundamentalist.”

- Paul Mirengoff at Power Line notes that Roberts’ biggest critics–NARAL, NOW, and People for the American Way–”appear to be wasting their money.”

- Is it just me, or does Todd Purdum’s NYTimes piece on the Roberts nomination/Katrina/Iraq–starting with the Vietnam-all-over-again-lede–ooze with gloating and schadenfreude?

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