Excerpted from FOXNews.com:

President Bush on Monday nominated Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court to replace the retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

While many Republicans praised the judicial nominee, Democrats wasted no time in publicly blasting him as "too radical."

Some at the White House believe there will be 22 votes against Alito because if some lawmakers didn't like Judge John Roberts, they wouldn't like Alito, they said. The Senate in September voted 78-22 in favor of confirming Roberts for the top judicial position.

Roberts may be closest to Alito in that "both are conservatives but both are very careful not to give their opinion" on social issues, John Nagle, associate dean at Notre Dame Law School who knows Alito, told FOX News on Monday.

Calling Alito a "terrific nominee," Nagle said the nominee has a "distinguished record" while working on constitutional issues in the Justice Department and during the rest of his professional career.

Alito is "very gracious, easy going, personable. He's really a legal thinker but he's not a person who in his personal conversations … tries to prove how bright he is," Nagle said.

"He's conservative but you don't get the sense from his opinions that he's pursuing a particular agenda. ... His decisions are very measured, analytical."

Alito has been dubbed "Scalito" or "Scalia-lite" by some lawyers because his judicial philosophy invites comparisons to that of conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. But while Scalia is outspoken and known to badger lawyers, Alito is polite, reserved and even-tempered. Some at the White House have taken offense to the nickname.

FOX News Supreme Court analyst Tim O'Brien said while Alito's ideology may be similar to that of Scalia's, he is an independent thinker and should not be labeled as another Scalia.

The more I read, the more I like this nomination. And in liberal-speak, "too radical" and "too devisive" can usually be interpreted as meaning the nominee is exactly what the country needs!