Okay, this is weird.

In today’s Times:

To the Editor:

Re “Bush Picks Nominee for Court; Cites His ‘Fairness and Civility’ ” (front page, July 20):

I am a knee-jerk liberal, and I know that I will probably deplore many of the opinions that Judge John G. Roberts will write as a Supreme Court justice, if he is confirmed.

But I think that he is eminently qualified for the position and should be confirmed.

All Americans knew in the 2004 presidential election that Supreme Court nominations would play a big role in the near term. The public elected George W. Bush despite a clear understanding of his particular philosophy about constitutional interpretation and “legislating from the bench” – even if that negative characteristic applies equally to conservative and liberal judges.

The public will (and should have to) live with the choice that President Bush has made. Intellect and qualification should always be the prime concerns in selecting lifetime appointees to the high court.

In Judge Roberts, Mr. Bush appears to have gone above and beyond in those areas. That Judge Roberts may be crafted in the mold of Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, judges whom President Bush says he admires, is our own fault.

Josh Goldberg
Chicago

In today’s Washington Post:

I am a liberal, and I know I will deplore a good number of the Supreme Court opinions John G. Roberts Jr. authors. But I think he is eminently qualified for the position and should be confirmed nonetheless.

Americans knew in the 2004 presidential election that Supreme Court nominations would play a big role in the near term. The public reelected George W. Bush despite a clear understanding of his particular philosophy about constitutional interpretation and “legislating from the bench” — even if that negative characteristic actually applies equally to conservative and liberal judges. The public will — and should have to — live with the choice that Mr. Bush has made.

Intellect and qualification should always be the prime concerns in selecting these lifetime appointees. In Judge Roberts, Mr. Bush appears to have gone above and beyond those standards. The fact that Roberts is crafted “in the mold of [Justices] Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas” is our own fault.

JOSH GOLDBERG

Chicago

From the New York Times’s letters policy:

“Letters to The Times should only be sent to The Times, and not to other publications.”

Oooh, they got burned!