Utah's congressional delegation reacted to John G. Roberts' nomination with enthusiasm, although a bit of surprise.

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, had heard a lot of names bantered about, but Roberts was not at the top of the list. In fact, he had never heard of him before, although now he calls Roberts "the perfect nominee."

When the president called him — Bennett was one of 70 senators consulted by the president — he told Bush he should not feel compelled to fill racial or gender quotas, but to find someone with a great legal mind and impeccable honesty.

"I am very pleased," Bennett said. "I told him to let the chips fall where they may, and he did that. Based on his record, he (Roberts) fills that bill."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who sits on the Judiciary Committee that will conduct confirmation hearings, called Roberts "an outstanding pick."

"He is a brilliant constitutional lawyer with unquestioned integrity," Hatch said. "He's the kind of judge that all of us want — someone committed to applying the law impartially rather than legislating from the bench."

Hatch said the Senate must now fulfill its constitutional responsibility "to treat the nominee fairly with a full debate on the merits and then an up-or-down vote."

That's something that could be difficult in the politically charged atmosphere of the nation's capital. But Bennett, for one, thinks it is possible.

"It can be done civilly," Bennett said. "I believe my colleagues who say there is no stomach for a filibuster on the other (Democratic) side."

Utah House members were less effusive, mostly because they knew little or nothing about the nominee.

"I am not familiar with the nominee," admitted Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah. "I look forward to observing a Senate confirmation process that I hope serves the interests of fairness, civility and bipartisanship in this historic process. This is a person who will be making decisions of great importance to Utahns."

Added Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, "When he was selecting his vice president nominee, President Bush defied the odds and the 'smart political strategists' and picked a man whose main qualification for the job was competence. I have every reason to believe the same criteria were used for this selection."

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, said he has "the utmost respect for John Roberts" and he is impressed by his record on the U.S. Court of Appeals.

"However, history has proven that it is very difficult to try to predict how justices will vote when they finally sit on the Supreme Court," he said. "We're just getting to know him and his views. I look forward to watching the confirmation process, which I hope remains educational and informative instead of developing into a partisan fistfight."

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