Reid added that while he usually disagrees with Scalia's opinions, "his reason for arriving at those results are very hard to dispute."

But the top Senate Democrat turned insulting when it came to the prospect that Bush might tap the court's lone black justice, Clarence Thomas, for the top spot.

"I think that he has been an embarrassment to the Supreme Court," Reid said, before deriding Thomas' intellect.

"I think that his opinions are poorly written. I don't - I just don't think that he's done a good job as a Supreme Court justice."

Despite his praise for Scalia, Reid accused him of having ethical problems, saying his support depended on whether they could be resolved.

"Ethics problems ... have arisen since he was selected as a justice of the Supreme Court ... where he took trips that were probably not in keeping with the code of judicial ethics. So we have to get over this," Reid claimed.

The Nevada Democrat, who supported a ban on partial-birth abortion and bills himself as pro-life, predicted trouble if the high court overturns Roe vs. Wade.

"It would be pretty difficult for everybody, so I think that's why the Supreme Court has wrestled with it," he said.

Editor's note: