Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, another oft-mentioned Supreme Court nominee, said he was pleased that the appeals court "has reaffirmed the president's critical authority to detain enemy combatants who take up arms on behalf of Al Qaeda and travel to the United States to kill innocent Americans. "
The Padilla case is on its way to the Supreme Court. How nominee John Roberts - or Alberto Gonzales or Michael Luttig, for that matter -- would vote is unclear.
But if the Senate Judiciary Committee does not demand to know Mr. Roberts's views on the reach of presidential power, it will have failed a critical test.
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