President Bush nominated Judge John Roberts to replace Chief Justice William Rehnquist, "whose death late Saturday opened a second vacancy on the Supreme Court and a new front in the ideological battle over the judiciary," the New York Times reports.

The Washington Post focuses on the upcoming confirmation hearings, noting "the degree to which Roberts’s religious beliefs may inform his judicial philosophy could be a significant line of questioning."

I don’t think this latest development alters the landscape that much.  Ideologically, Roberts is a proxy for Rhenquist anyway.  The key thing is who will be selected to replace O’Connor (again).