The battle for the Supreme Court begins

MSNBC is reporting that President Bush is going to announce judge John G. Roberts Jr. as his choice to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court tonight. The article isn't very clear on what his ideas are [or if he even has any of his own], but I believe what happens with the Supreme Court in the next couple of years will be critical for our future. As I said in "A few reflections on the election":

From these two exit polls, I think the Republicans will conclude that they have a large Moral mandate, and a nearly as large mandate on the way that President Bush has been waging the war on "terror." Both of these are disastrous. Look for a serious push against Roe v. Wade in the next 4 years, unless Bush only gets to appoint 1 Supreme Court Justice, and look for an even stronger Iran and North Korea, an emboldened China [especially against Taiwan], and the very strong probability of another Islamic theocracy in Iraq, because, hey, "democracy is democracy."

Already, the Court has handed down two horrible decisions in the last couple months: the Kelo v. City of New London and Gonzales v. Raich cases. How emboldened the religious right is after the Terry Schaivo grotesquery remains to be seen.