Salon.com Wire Story: "After days of Democratic deference to John Roberts, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy said Thursday that documents made public so far indicate the Supreme Court nominee holds a 'rather cramped view of the Voting Rights Act.'

Materials that Roberts drafted while at the Justice Department and White House counsel's office during the Reagan administration 'certainly raise some questions in my mind about his commitment' to civil rights, said Kennedy, D-Mass.

Kennedy's remarks showed a willingness to raise pointed questions when most other Democrats have stuck to pleasantries about Roberts' credentials ahead of his confirmation hearings.

Sen. John Cornyn said senators should not draw 'premature conclusions based solely' on memos drafted when Roberts, now a federal appeals court judge, worked at the Justice Department two decades ago.

'And I hope that no senator would attempt to paint Judge Roberts as hostile to civil rights based on memos written for a client -- memos analyzing the law, not personal views,' said Cornyn, R-Texas."

(Via Salon.)