Administration objects to story describing Alito as conservative [View All]

The Bush administration is mounting an aggressive effort to counter a Knight Ridder story that described Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito as a committed judicial conservative.

The administration's response - delivered separately Tuesday by the White House and the Justice Department - reflects its determination to defend Alito and its sensitivity to the "conservative" label for him.

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"His 15-year record on the 3rd Circuit shows him to be a mainstream, fair, thorough judge," Assistant Attorney General Rachel Brand said in a C-SPAN interview devoted to her critique of the Knight Ridder analysis. Brand, whose duties include shepherding judicial nominations through the Senate, rejected the conservative label for Alito.

"The term conservative means different things to different people. A judge is supposed to apply the law, not make it," she said.


http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/13343347.htm