After meeting, Sen. Santorum praises Roberts



The Pennsylvania senator said that they focused on the nomination process.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Rick Santorum on Friday called Supreme Court nominee John Roberts a "tremendous individual" he is happy to support after meeting with him in his Capitol Hill office.
Roberts, 50, publicly thanked Santorum, R-Pa., for meeting with him, but declined to answer questions as he entered and exited the closed-door meeting. This is Roberts' second week of meetings with senators in search of confirmation votes.
Santorum, who is chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said the two did not talk about ideology during the meeting that lasted about 20 minutes, but instead focused on the nomination process.
"He's obviously a tremendous individual who is very personable, very open and forthright," Santorum said.
Earlier in the day, former Democratic senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards called Roberts "a partisan for conservative causes."
Santorum said he is not aware of any partisanship exercised by Roberts, and he said he mentioned that to Roberts.
"His response was that he wants to do what a judge is supposed to do, which is to decide the case based on the facts of the law and apply that as narrowly as possible," Santorum said. "I would think whether you're a liberal or conservative, that's what you want out of your court."
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