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Justice Scalia Says He'll Miss O'Connor, the Court's 'Social Glue'

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Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, often extolled by conservative Republicans as their ideal model of a judge, said Monday the confirmation process was too politicized and that he wouldn't want to experience it again.

When asked whether he thought he could be confirmed again by the Senate, Scalia said: "I don't know. I wouldn't want to go through it today, I'll tell you that much."

Scalia, who was confirmed by the Senate on 98-0 vote in 1986, was interviewed by NBC's "Today" show. He was thought at one point to be a candidate for chief justice when William H. Rehnquist died. President Bush nominated John Roberts, who was confirmed by the Senate on a 78-22 vote last month.

Bush has said he would nominate Supreme Court justices in the mold of Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Several conservatives have complained that current Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers is not enough like Scalia and Thomas, and are opposing her nomination.

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  Scalia said he will miss the retiring Sandra Day O'Connor, whom Miers wants to replace. "If there was anybody that has been sort of the social glue of the court, it's been Sandra and I will miss her," Scalia said.

On another issue, Scalia said he is adamantly opposed to televising Supreme Court sessions.

"We don't want to become entertainment," he said. "I think there's something sick about making entertainment out of real people's legal problems. I don't like it in the lower courts, and I don't particularly like it in the Supreme Court."

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has introduced legislation in the Senate that would allow sessions of the high court to be televised. The court has allowed the audio recordings of sessions to be released, but it has refused to allow cameras into its hearing chamber.

© 2005 Associated Press.

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