ConfirmThem has the latest hot speculation that Third Circuit judge Samuel Alito, nicknamed “Scalito” by some journalists, is going to be the replacement nominee for Harriet Miers, including word that Alito is in Washington this weekend. Alito is regarded as a real lawyer’s lawyer, much like Roberts, rather than an ideological type, but if Bush is – as has been speculated – mainly interested in getting nominees who will uphold Administration policies on detainees, he is probably reassured by Alito’s background as a prosecutor.
This profile has some observations on Alito, and reminds me of the fact that Alito probably benefits, in this process, from being close to Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security chief who succeeded Alito as US Attorney for New Jersey and served briefly as his colleague on the Third Circuit.