How to succeed in government without really trying

The White House was so pleased with Supreme Court nominee John Roberts that they've denied Congress reams of papers dealing with his actions on behalf of the Reagan administration, which appear to have run the gamut from opposing women's rights to supporting apartheid. After having served for less than three years as a judge, it looks like Roberts could be the next underqualified stooge to bungle his way to the top. UPDATE: It's just been officially announced.

As he contemplates filling his second court vacancy, Bush is considering a plan to install Roberts as chief justice rather than as an associate justice replacing Sandra Day O'Connor, senior administration officials said. With the Roberts vetting process well advanced and his confirmation on track, such a shift could guarantee that a chief justice would be in place when the court opens its term Oct. 3.

The switch would be unprecedented in modern times. If the president does not opt for that course, officials said, he will return to the list of potential candidates he scrutinized in picking Roberts in July. Among those at the top of such a list would be his close friend Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales; his former deputy attorney general, Larry D. Thompson; and a handful of federal appeals judges, including Edith Hollan Jones, Edith Brown Clement, J. Harvie Wilkinson III, J. Michael Luttig, Emilio M. Garza and Priscilla R. Owen.