After the press secretary said there was no word about Supreme Court Justice David Souter's retirement -- not even in the White House Mess -- President Barack Obama took over the press briefing for a while, announcing Souter's retirement and talking about his ideas for replacing him. (AP Photo by Gerald Herbert.)
by Mark Silva
The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, had just got done this afternoon saying that nobody in the White House had been informed of Supreme Court Justice David Souter's retirement.
Gibbs said he had even asked around "the Mess,'' that paneled, clubby, staff-only institution in the basement of the West Wing famous for its Navy bean soup and meticulous service by a formal Navy wait staff.
No news for you, the soup staff told him.
Suddenly, the sliding door behind the podium of the press briefing room rumbled open, and the president walked in with a loud "Hey'' -- with Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and White House Counsel Greg Craig in tow.
"This is kind of cool," Obama said, taking charge of Gibbs' podium.
"It's way cooler than it seems,'' said Gibbs, prompting laughter.
"Yes. Absolutely,'' said the president, proceeding to both announce Souter's retirement and explain what he's looking for in a replacement.
"I just got off the telephone with Justice Souter,'' Obama said. "And so I would like to say a few words about his decision to retire from the Supreme Court.
"Throughout his two decades on the Supreme Court, Justice Souter has shown what it means to be a fair-minded and independent judge,'' the president said. "He came to the bench with no particular ideology. He never sought to promote a political agenda. And he consistently defied labels and rejected absolutes, focusing instead on just one task -- reaching a just result in the case that was before him.
He approached judging as he approaches life, with a feverish work ethic and a good sense of humor, with integrity, equanimity and compassion -- the hallmark of not just being a good judge, but of being a good person.
I am incredibly grateful for his dedicated service. I told him as much when we spoke. I spoke on behalf of the American people thanking him for his service. And I wish him safe travels on his journey home to his beloved New Hampshire and on the road ahead.
Now, the process of selecting someone to replace Justice Souter is among my most serious responsibilities as President. So I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity. I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book. It is also about how our laws affect the daily realities of people's lives -- whether they can make a living and care for their families; whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation.
I view that quality of empathy, of understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles as an essential ingredient for arriving as just decisions and outcomes. I will seek somebody who is dedicated to the rule of law, who honors our constitutional traditions, who respects the integrity of the judicial process and the appropriate limits of the judicial role. I will seek somebody who shares my respect for constitutional values on which this nation was founded, and who brings a thoughtful understanding of how to apply them in our time.
As I make this decision, I intend to consult with members of both parties across the political spectrum. And it is my hope that we can swear in our new Supreme Court Justice in time for him or her to be seated by the first Monday in October when the Court's new term begins.
Comments
It sure is nice to have intelligent humor in the White House again. The frat-boy hazing shtick from the last guy really got old after about eight seconds.....I mean years.
Posted by: RockLobster | May 1, 2009 5:23 PM
Way cool press conference. I needed a little levity after this week!
Posted by: lochnessmonster | May 1, 2009 5:46 PM
Wow- way cool- how about totally awesome- a "trash talkn" President! He knows how to pick basketball draft choices and how to get his promised "shelter" dog to top the news for 4 days and his wife's arugula garden the most important improvement at the White House in a generation. What a crush the press has on Mr. Obama and they are making sure we are all going down the path with them. I'm hoping they don't decide to bring us back to a reality based universe- that would be a major bummer.
Posted by: veritas | May 1, 2009 7:57 PM
And the drooling from the left continues
Posted by: Terry | May 1, 2009 8:21 PM
and the uber-envy from the right continues unabated with a side dish of hater-ade, tea bag resin, and a verbal vomit inducing ex-lax chaser....
Posted by: Bling Flintstone | May 1, 2009 9:51 PM
Good Lord...we have no free press left in this country. They're all drunk on the O-KoolAid and can't see the Dear Leader has no clothes. MSNBCCBSABCbs...all for Obama. The ONLY place to get any objective news is FoxNews...maybe that's why Fox is killing all the ObamaNetworks by 2 and 3 to 1 in the ratings...
Posted by: Hugo | May 1, 2009 9:55 PM
and the uber-envy from the right continues unabated with a side dish of haterade and tea bag resin, enmeshed within a verbal vomit inducing ex-lax chaser....
Posted by: Bling Flintstone | May 1, 2009 9:56 PM
And the drooling from the left continues
Posted by: Terry | May 1, 2009 8:21 PM
.........
And the teabagging from the right continues.
http://media.photobucket.com/image/teabagging/x2501x/teabag.jpg
Posted by: you | May 1, 2009 10:14 PM
Hugo,
I can't decide which is funnier - you whining like a little baby or your belief that Fox is a "real" news channel?
Posted by: Johnny Knoxville | May 2, 2009 12:11 AM
Maybe it would be better if the President flew onto an aircraft carrier wearing a superman suit and prestended to be something he was not. This really impresses the dunderheads on the right and allows them to pretend he and most of his administartion were not gutless chicken hawks.
Then he could talk in some kind of spastic english and have all the "english as the only language butchered" right wingers swoon.
Posted by: tinfoil | May 2, 2009 12:28 AM
Trickled-On You,
While all of you flatliners fawn over every word BO says, conservative Americans across the country are concerned about the out of control spending and growth of the federal gov't. You tell me who the responsible adults are in the room.
Posted by: Terry | May 2, 2009 7:59 AM
:-). The problem is that the middle likes Obama too. Game over. Forget the right and the left.
Posted by: Justforkix | May 2, 2009 8:56 AM
@Terry: Responsible adults? You must be referring to those people who love the death penalty, hate abortions, and love torture. Yeah, some adults all right!!
Posted by: Justforkix | May 2, 2009 9:01 AM
Not only is Obama the greatest orator in history, He is also the funniest human being ever to stride on this planet.
Posted by: Rodney Daingerfield | May 2, 2009 9:19 AM
Kix,
The death penalty for those that have committed multiple murders, against the taking of innocent life, and extracting information from terrorists thatwant to kill 1000's of our fellow citizens. Your problem is?
You would spare the life of Timothy McVeigh, not pour some water on Khalid Sheik Mohammed's head, and slice,dice and vacumn out a little fetus.
I think we know who are the adults.
Posted by: Terry | May 2, 2009 10:00 AM
conservative Americans across the country are concerned about the out of control spending and growth of the federal gov't.
Where were you when Bush and congress were spending like drunken sailors after they took over in 2000? I think there is plenty of blame to pass around. Both parties are guilty of helping spend us into a big hole.
Posted by: lochnessmonster | May 2, 2009 10:38 AM
@Terry: Reread your post. That may be your America. It sure ain't mine.
Posted by: Justforkix | May 2, 2009 5:13 PM
Kix,
I laid out the two different Americas - which America, yours or mine, kills the most innocent.
You see the pregant woman in this story is charged. If it's only fetal tissue, why charge her?
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/pregnant.woman.heroin.2.998295.html
Posted by: Terry | May 3, 2009 12:31 AM
conservative Americans across the country are concerned about the out of control spending and growth of the federal gov't.
Posted by: Terry | May 2, 2009 7:59 AM
If that's so true, trickled-On Terry, where was the outrage from your side of the political spectrum when Dubya pushed the National Debt from $5.8 trillion to over $11 trillion?
Posted by: BC | May 3, 2009 2:30 PM
BC,
There was outrage from the conservatives. Did you see the turn-out from conservatives in the 2006 Congressional Elcetion? The conservatives didn't turn out for the GOP in 2008. I for one did not vote for the 2008 GOP presidential canidate.
You have to learn the difference between the GOP and conservatives
Posted by: Terry | May 3, 2009 7:51 PM