It has been an excellent pick by President Bush: conservative, (relatively) young, confirmed three years ago even by the Democrats.
Hard to believe there will be a SC justice only a few years older than I am. Maybe soon we will have a president younger than I am. ;-)
I forget which talking head last night said Roberts would be in line to succeed Rehnquist as chief justice now, even if Rehnquist retires relatively soon, like within 6 months. That would be an interesting move but I wonder if it wouldn't be a bit of an insult to the more senior Scalia or Thomas.
He was confirmed in 2003, not in 2001. Sorry for the mistake.