Tina Smith: “I thank you for the time. It is for me a privilege to speak on behalf of Judge Roberts, but especially because while I…”

“I thank you for the time. It is for me a privilege to speak on behalf of Judge Roberts, but especially because while I have voted on hundreds of nominations for President Clinton and now at the present time President Bush, this is the first time I will cast a vote, an affirmative vote, for a member of the U.S. Supreme Court, and, perhaps, if Judge Roberts lives long enough, the only time I will cast one on behalf of the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. It is for that reason that I asked Judge Roberts to come see me. I enjoyed a delightful visit with him prior to announcing my affirmative decision to vote for him without qualification, without reservation, or any reluctance. He is, in short, a brilliant nominee and I believe he will be a brilliant judge who will make us proud for years and years to come. When I ran for the Senate, I ran as someone with a hat in the political arena. It is an experience where you state your position, you ask for votes. That is a fundamentally different exercise than being a judge. A judge is not someone who comes as a candidate asking for a vote, posturing in any fashion, and playing politics. The nature of the judicial branch, even the executive branch, is fundamentally different from the judicial branch. Ours is to make law. The president is to execute the law. The judge is to interpret that law. When I was running for an election certificate, I was asked repeatedly about how I would judge nominees to the Court.…”