    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [January 28, 2006]
    [Pages 141-143]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    January 28, 2006

        Good morning. The United States Senate is now considering my
    nomination of Judge Sam Alito to be an
    Associate Justice on the Supreme Court. As Americans saw in his
    confirmation hearings, Sam Alito is a man of great character and
    integrity. He

    [[Page 142]]

    has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in
    more than 70 years. He understands that the role of a judge is to
    strictly interpret the law, not to advance a personal or political
    agenda. And throughout his extraordinary career, Sam Alito has earned
    the tremendous respect of his colleagues and attorneys across the
    political spectrum.
        This past Wednesday, I met with a distinguished group of 39 former
    law clerks to Judge Alito. During Judge
    Alito's 15 years on the bench, these fine men and women have worked side
    by side with him, providing legal research, discussing and debating
    pending cases, and seeing firsthand how he arrives at decisions. They
    are uniquely qualified to assess what kind of Supreme Court Justice Sam
    Alito would be, and they are united in their strong support of Judge
    Alito's nomination.
        One of Judge Alito's former clerks,
    who describes herself as a left-leaning Democrat, says 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 former clerk worked on Senator
    Kerry's Presidential campaign. She says this
    about Judge Alito: ``His approach to judging is not about personal
    ideology or ambition but about hard work and devotion to law and
    justice.'' In fact, Judge Alito has the strong support of all 54 of his
    former clerks, regardless of their political beliefs. They know him
    well, and they know he'll make an outstanding Supreme Court Justice.
        Judge Alito has also earned broad
    support from his fellow judges on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
    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: ``He's a real judge,
    deciding each case on the facts and the law, not on his personal
    views.'' Another colleague on the Third Circuit who was appointed by
    President Clinton said this about Judge
    Alito: ``He is a fair-minded man, a modest man, a humble man, and he
    reveres the rule of law.'' This judge went on to say that, if confirmed,
    Judge Alito ``will serve as a marvelous and distinguished Associate
    Justice.''
        Judge Alito received the American
    Bar Association's highest possible rating, a unanimous ``well-
    qualified.'' The ABA based its rating on its assessment of Judge Alito's
    integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament. In the
    past, leading Democratic Senators have called the ABA rating the gold
    standard for judicial nominees.
        This past week, Judge Alito gained
    the endorsement of Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor, Ed
    Rendell. Governor Rendell said he was not
    pleased with the partisan way some of his fellow Democrats have handled
    Sam Alito's nomination. Democratic Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia announced he was voting for Judge Alito,
    and he said that many people in his State were calling the treatment of
    Judge Alito by some Democrats, quote, ``an outrage and a disgrace,''
    endquote. Another Democratic Senator expressed concern that the Senate
    confirmation process in recent years has become, quote, ``overly
    politicized, to the detriment of the rule of law,'' quote.
        The Senate has a constitutional responsibility to hold an up-or-down
    vote on Judge Alito's nomination.
    Throughout its 216-year history, the Senate has held an up-or-down vote
    on every Supreme Court nominee with majority Senate support. Judge Alito
    has demonstrated that he is eminently qualified to serve on our Nation's
    highest Court, and America is fortunate to have a man of his integrity
    and intellect willing to serve.
        I'm grateful to Judge Alito, his
    wife, Martha, and the Alito children for their patience and
    dignity during the process. And I look forward to the Senate voting to
    confirm Judge Sam Alito as the 110th Justice of the Supreme Court.
        Thank you for listening.

    [[Page 143]]

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:50 a.m. on January 27 in the
    Roosevelt Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on January
    28. The transcript was made available by the Office of the Press
    Secretary on January 27 but was embargoed for release until the
    broadcast. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish
    language transcript of this address.