"HE IS NOT THE NOMINEE! Do you think the President would have nominated Gonzalez to the AG position (very important in the War on Terror) when he KNEW there would be a vacancy on the court and he was going to nominate him? For what possible reason would he have put Gonzalez through one confirmation hearing, only to have him undergo another one less than 6 months later, PLUS having to find another AG?"If Gonzalez wasn't being considered, the President would have publicly expressed some of the points you made above, or simply stated that AG Gonzalez is happy in his present post and is not interested in a spot on the SC at this time. He hasn't.
Why should he make a statement that he ISN'T considering Gonzalez? Should he also make a statement that he isn't considering Condi Rice or Donald Rumsfeld?
I guess since he hasn't made a public statement that he isn't considering Miss Marple I should start preparing for the confirmation hearings.