Several Democrats said the effects of Hurricane Katrina showed again the need for an effective and compassionate federal government. They also questioned conservative legal efforts to curb federal authority.
"The powerful winds and floodwater of Katrina tore away the mask that has hidden from public view that many Americans ... are left out and behind," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) "As one nation under God, we cannot continue to ignore the injustice, the inequality and the gross disparities that exist in our society."
To win his support, he said, Roberts must show that he would support civil rights and the pursuit of equality.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was concerned about Roberts' views on women's rights and abortion.
Recalling the days before the court's 1973 decision in Roe vs. Wade, which struck down state laws barring abortion, Feinstein said that as a college student, she saw friends collect money to send a young woman to Tijuana to end a pregnancy. She said she knew another young woman who ended her life after she became pregnant.
"I don't want to go back to those days.... It would be very difficult for me to confirm someone to the Supreme Court whom I knew would overturn Roe v. Wade," she said.
Republicans said Roberts should not be pressed to spell out his views on current legal controversies such as abortion.
"Don't take the bait," said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). "Do exactly the same thing every nominee -- Republican or Democrat alike -- has done. Decline to answer any question that you feel would compromise your ability to do your job."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Bush's nominee deserved to be confirmed because he has the intelligence and temperament for the job. Disagreement with his conservative philosophy is not reason enough to oppose him, Graham argued.
"Elections matter. The president won," Graham said. "He told us what he was going to do, and he did it" -- nominate a conservative to the court.
After Monday's session, committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said he was impressed by Roberts' 6 1/2 -minute statement and his references to baseball.
"I thought it was succinct [and] to the point," Specter said. "He had his pulse right on listening to America on the baseball analogy. [The umpire] doesn't make the rules. He calls the balls and strikes."
