THE CAMPAIGN BEGINS: People for the American Way hit the ground running with talking points obviously prepared in advance for use against any Bush Supreme Court nominee not endorsed by Ted Kennedy. Here's the left's core message: "Bush has chosen to gratify his extreme right-wing base rather than to protect the basic rights of all Americans. Bush has guaranteed that the confirmation process will be controversial because Judge Roberts is a controversial nominee..." That's effective propaganda. The campaign to win Roberts' nomination needs to run with an effective message of its own, a message geared to educate Americans about the proper role of the judiciary in the process of waging an effective battle:

"The Framers ensured that our most basic rights are ones that the Framers enumerated in the Constitution. They are rights guaranteed to all Americans rather than to specific interest groups. We have seen too many examples of judges who forget that their role is to interpret the Constitution, not to act as unelected legislators. The Framers of the Constitution designed the courts and the congress to serve different functions. John Roberts understands that difference and will uphold it as a Supreme Court justice..."

That's too wordy; I'm not a speechwriter. I just hope the president's team is ready to play offense with strong, effective, focused, simple, powerful arguments. This is a great chance further educate America about how the Framers envisioned the judiciary and to persuade America that Roberts is the right man at the right time. The left will attempt to turn the confirmation hearings into the equivalent of a presidential campaign debate focused on specific issues. Team Roberts must make it clear why that's the wrong standard. Let the battle begin.