Update: Senator Jeff Sessions, one of radical right cabal, is praising the decision on CNN, he can hardly contain his glee. So Bush sold out to the radical right. Plus, Sessions already lies. He said on CNN Roberts was overwhelmingly approved both in the Judiciary Committee and in the full Senate. Reuters reports:

He joined the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in May 2003 after a protracted confirmation fight in the Senate.

Sen. John Cornyn just got busted with the same lie on Fox News. He said Roberts was unanimously voted out of the Judiciary Committee. The reporter corrected him and said Kennedy, Durbin and Schumer voted against him.

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It's not Edith Clement, It's D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. Here's Harry Reid's statement:

STATEMENT OF SENATOR HARRY REID ON THE NOMINATION OF JOHN ROBERTS TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT

The President has made his choice. Now the Senate will do its job of deciding whether to confirm John Roberts to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.

The President has chosen someone with suitable legal credentials, but that is not the end of our inquiry. The Senate must review Judge Roberts¹s record to determine if he has a demonstrated commitment to the core American values of freedom, equality and fairness. The nominee will have an opportunity to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee and make his case to the American people.

I will not pre-judge this nomination. I look forward to learning more about Judge Roberts.

He's a former law clerk for Chief Justice Rehnquist and has argued 39 cases before the Supreme Court as a lawyer.

Bump and Update (by TChris): President Bush will announce the nominee in a live telecast tonight, at 9:00 Eastern time.

Update: WaPo says the White House will announce Bush's Supreme Court nominee today.

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Scott McClellan today:

"The president is closer today than he was yesterday on naming a nominee."

Speculation is centering on 5th Circuit Justice Edith Clement.

White House officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly about the process, said Bush's timetable appears to have been accelerated and that a choice could come as early as Tuesday. They said Clement is a leading candidate, but cautioned that the president had not made a final decision and that there were other prospects still in the mix.

Known as a conservative and a strict constructionist in legal circles, Clement has eased fears among some abortion-rights advocates. She has stated that the Supreme Court "has clearly held that the right to privacy guaranteed by the Constitution includes the right to have an abortion" and that "the law is settled in that regard."

Some good news: All the finalists are judges, which means no need to fret about Sen. John Cornyn, Fred Thompson, Alberto Gonzales - for this particular vacancy.

Even better news: Also missing from the final list: former Solictor General Ted Olson.