    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [January 25, 2006]
    [Pages 126-128]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Following a Meeting With Former Clerks of Associate Justice-
    Designate Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
    January 25, 2006

        Thank you all very much. Thank you all for being here. I just
    finished a meeting in the Oval Office with a group of distinguished
    lawyers, many of whom come from different backgrounds, and they've got a
    wide range of political views. They share two things in common: They all
    clerked for Judge Sam Alito; and they strongly support his nomination to
    be an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court.
        The relationship between a judge and a law clerk is extremely close.
    Each judge has only three or four clerks a year, and these clerks serve
    as the judge's aides and advisers. They provide legal research; they
    discuss and debate pending cases; and they see firsthand how the judge
    arrives at decisions.
        These fine men and women with metoday have worked side by side with
    Sam Alito, and they are uniquely qualified to assess what kind of
    Supreme Court Justice he would be. As the full Senate takes up Judge
    Alito's nomination, it is important for the American people to hear what
    his former clerks say about this fine judge and his approach to the law.
        One of the clerks I met today who describes himself as a Democrat
    said this about Judge Alito: ``He is meticulous in the way he goes about
    deciding cases. He's meticulous in the way he goes about finding what
    the law is. I can't think of better qualities for anyone to serve as a
    judge on the Supreme Court.''
        Another former clerk here today says this: ``I am a Democrat who
    always voted Democrat, except when I vote for a Green

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    candidate--but Judge Alito was not interested in the ideology of his
    clerks. He didn't decide cases based on ideology.''
        Another former clerk who described himself as a proud member of the
    NAACP and the ACLU says, ``After a year of working closely with the
    Judge on cases concerning a wide variety of legal issues, I left New
    Jersey not knowing Judge Alito's personal beliefs on any of them.''
        Another former clerk who describes herself as a left-leaning
    Democrat told the Senate this about Sam Alito: ``He's a man of great
    decency, integrity, and character. I believe very strongly he deserves
    to be confirmed as the Court's next Associate Justice.''
        Another of Judge Alito's former clerks worked for Senator
    Kerry's Presidential campaign. She said this
    about Judge Alito: ``I learned in my year with Judge Alito that his
    approach to judging is not about personal ideology or ambition but about
    hard work and devotion to law and justice.''
        In case you were wondering, Judge Alito has also the support of
    Republican clerks. [Laughter] In fact, he has the strong support of all
    54 of his former clerks, regardless of their political beliefs. Judge
    Alito has earned broad support from his fellow judges on the Third
    Circuit. Seven of them took the extraordinary step of testifying on his
    behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
        Former Chief Judge Ed Becker, who sat with
    Judge Alito on more than 1,000 cases, said this about his colleague: ``I
    have never seen a chink in the armor of his integrity, which I view as
    total. He is a real judge deciding each case on the facts and the law,
    not his personal views, whatever they may be.''
        Another colleague on the Third Circuit who was appointed by
    President Clinton said this about Judge
    Alito: ``He is a fairminded man, a modest man, a humble man, and he
    reveres the rule of law.'' The judge went on to say, ``If confirmed,
    Judge Sam Alito will serve as a marvelous and distinguished Associate
    Justice.''
        All these brilliant legal minds are united in their strong support
    of Sam Alito. And in his confirmation hearings, the American people saw
    why. Judge Alito is openminded and principled. He gives every case
    careful attention, and he makes decisions based on the merits. Judge
    Alito understands that the role of a judge is to interpret the law, not
    to advance a personal or political agenda. Judge Alito is a man of
    character and integrity. Judge Alito will bring to the Supreme Court a
    broad range of experience and accomplishment.
        Before he became a judge, Sam Alito served as a Federal prosecutor,
    Assistant to the Solicitor General, where he argued 12 cases before the
    Supreme Court; an attorney in the Justice Department's Office of Legal
    Counsel; and the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey--the top
    Federal prosecutor in one of the Nation's largest Federal districts.
        In 1990, Sam Alito was unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve
    on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He now has
    more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more
    than 70 years. The American Bar Association gave Judge Sam Alito its
    highest possible rating, a unanimous well-qualified. It based its rating
    on its assessment of his integrity, professional competence, and
    judicial temperament.
        In the past, leading Democrat Senators have called the ABA's rating
    the gold standard for judicial nominees. Yesterday, Ed Rendell, the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania and former
    chairman of the Democratic National Committee, came out in support of
    Judge Sam Alito. Governor Rendell said he was not pleased with the way
    his fellow Democrats have handled Sam Alito's nomination and said that
    Democrats should vote to confirm him. Governor Rendell put it this way:
    ``As long

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    as a Supreme Court Justice has high academic qualifications and
    significant integrity--and Judge Alito certainly does--we should confirm
    him.''
        There's no doubt about Judge Alito's qualifications, his intellect,
    or his complete dedication to our Constitution and laws. He is exactly
    the kind of person Americans want on the Supreme Court.
        The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to give every
    judicial nominee an up-or-down vote. In its 216-year history, the Senate
    has held an up-or-down vote on every Supreme Court nominee with a
    majority of Senate support. And I call on the United States Senate to
    put partisanship aside and give Judge Alito the up-or-down vote he
    deserves and to confirm him as the next Associate Justice of the Supreme
    Court.
        I'm grateful to Judge Alito. And I appreciate his wonderful wife,
    Martha, and their children for their dignity
    throughout the confirmation process. America is fortunate that this
    good, humble man is willing to serve, and all of us look forward to
    seeing him take a seat on our Nation's highest Court.
        Thank you all for being here. Appreciate it.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:35 p.m. in Room 350 of the Dwight D.
    Eisenhower Executive Office Building.