[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 2 (Monday, January 16, 2006)]
[Page 26]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to Reporters Following a Meeting With Associate Justice-
Designate Samuel A. Alito, Jr.

January 9, 2006

    Good morning. I just had breakfast with Judge Alito. I told him I 
think he conducted himself with such dignity and class in the weeks 
leading up to the confirmation process, which begins today.
    Sam Alito is imminently qualified to be a member of the bench. I'm 
not the only person who feels that way. The American Bar Association 
looked at his record, looked at his opinions, looked at his temperament, 
and came to the same conclusion, that he is well qualified to be a 
Supreme Court judge.
    Sam's got the intellect necessary to bring a lot of class to that 
Court. He's got a judicial temperament necessary to make sure that the 
Court is a body that interprets the law and doesn't try to write the 
law. And so I'm looking forward to your hearings. I know the American 
people will be impressed, just like I have been impressed and a lot of 
other Members of the Senate have been impressed.
    And my hope, of course, is that the American people will be 
impressed by the process. It's very important that Members of the Senate 
conduct a dignified hearing. The Supreme Court is a dignified body; Sam 
is a dignified person. And my hope, of course, is that the Senate bring 
dignity to the process, give this man a fair hearing, and an up-or-down 
vote on the Senate floor.
    Sam, good luck to you. Thanks for your agreement to serve. I 
appreciate you.

Note: The President spoke at 7:52 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of these remarks.