Supreme Court justice shakes head as Obama scolds high court over campaign finance decsion
By Laurie Kellman, APWednesday, January 27, 2010
Justice looks askance as Obama criticizes court
WASHINGTON — The man in the House chamber openly disagreeing with President Barack Obama as he spoke to Congress wasn’t an over-the-top Republican or a seething Democrat. He was a Supreme Court justice, Samuel Alito.
Obama had taken the unusual step of scolding the high court in his State of the Union address, accusing justices of reversing a century of campaign finance law to, as Obama put it, “open the floodgates for special interests.”
Alito made a dismissive face and began shaking his head at the mention of reversal, and he continued shaking his head as Obama urged Congress to pass new legislation to deal with what he considers a bad decision.
A reliable conservative on the court, Alito was in the majority in the 5-4 decision.
Tags: Barack Obama, Campaigns, North America, Union address, United States, Washington
