[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 5 (Monday, February 6, 2006)]
[Pages 141-142]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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 
``an outrage and a disgrace.'' Another Democratic Senator expressed 
concern that the Senate confirmation process in recent years has become 
``overly politicized, to the detriment of the rule of law.''
    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

[[Page 142]]

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.

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.