Judge Edith Clement Reportedly Out As Bush Nominee to Supreme Court

From Republican insider blog Confirm Them, in the last few minutes....

"An informed source told ABC News they had spoken with Clement and said she received a phone call from the White House this afternoon. According to the source, Clement was thanked for meeting with the president and sharing her views on the Supreme Court, but that the administration has decided to go in a 'different direction.' The White House said Bush will announce his selection tonight at 9 p.m. ET."

Last minute anonymous word is that the President will nominate one of three judges: Judge Edith Jones, Texas-native Judge J. Michael Luttig of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals, or Judge John Roberts of the US Court of Appeals in WAsington DC.

Luttig is a solid conservative who clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia from 1982-83 and for Chief Justice Warren Burger from 1983-84, and helped shepherd Justice Clarence Thomas through his rancorous Supreme Court confirmation process. He worked in the Justice under the Bush 1 administration.

Harvard-educated Roberts, a former law clerk to Chief Justice Rehnquist, was associate legal counsel to President Reagan for four years, as well as for the Bush 1 administration. He's respected by both sides of the ideological aisle, although his views about the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion ruling are unclear.