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Thank you, Pres. Bush, with this outstanding choice...

Justice Alito: 'Reagan an Inspiration for Me'

He was just 14 years old in 1964 when he heard Ronald Reagan make what became known at the time as "The Speech." Yet, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito now says it was at that moment that he acquired the rock solid conservative views that have shaped his life.

"When I thought about the effects that President Reagan has had on my life, interestingly, what came to my mind were not big events but vivid recollections of small things in my life that really marked a turning point," Alito told some 500 people gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Tuesday.

"President Reagan and Mrs. Reagan were an inspiration for me as they were for so many other Americans and, indeed, for people all over the globe."

According to the Los Angeles Times, Justice Alito said Ronald Reagan "certainly deserved his nickname - 'The Great Communicator'" and added that Reagan's greatest legacy was his support of the U. S. Constitution "and holding on to the principles that have guided us for two centuries."

"This, I think, is President Reagan's greatest enduring lesson for all Americans, including members of the judiciary . . . . What really matters is to hold on to those principles included in our founding documents and not be swayed, to not be distracted and not to be blown off course by the prevailing winds of the day," he said.