For yesterday’s Quote of the Day, we highlighted a recent comment by Chief Justice John Roberts, who said he found President Obama’s shout-out to the Supreme Court in the State of the Union to be “very troubling.”

And that was the end of that, right? Not quite. Not by a long shot.

Last night, the White House lashed back at Roberts, through a statement by spokesperson Robert Gibbs:

What is troubling is that this decision opened the floodgates for corporations and special interests to pour money into elections — drowning out the voices of average Americans. The president has long been committed to reducing the undue influence of special interests and their lobbyists over government. That is why he spoke out to condemn the decision and is working with Congress on a legislative response.

The president must be really steamed at the chief justice. Perhaps Obama is still mad at Roberts for screwing up the oath and ruining the inauguration? [FN1]

Is going after the Supreme Court a wise strategy for the president? Jan Crawford of CBS News — recently recognized as one of television’s sexiest legal commentators, by the way — doesn’t think so. In a recent blog post, she compared the Obama White House to a petulant child and suggested that doing battle with the SCOTUS may be counterproductive.

Meanwhile, other commentators unearthed some good nuggets from yesterday’s John Roberts appearance….

Chief Justice Roberts made his “very troubling” comment during a question-and-answer session following a speech at the University of Alabama School of Law. Over at the Faculty Lounge, Professor Dan Filler highlighted other tidbits from the talk:

One student asked about the role of oral argument and he commented that it “plays a very important role,” though he was unwilling to say whether oral argument changes his vote. About clerks: “I like them to be able to talk well.”

In other words, he likes them to be bright, clean and articulate. (And maybe hot? We have reason to believe that the SCOTUS clerk who was the subject of this Craiglist “missed connection” is a current JGR clerk.)

Books he recommends: “Edward White’s John Marshall: Definer of a Nation.

About the role of international law: “This is a discussion in which each side is almost intentionally missing the point of the other side.”

About Senate judicial hearings: “The process is not very fruitful.”

Indeed — and they’re not even that entertaining. The Sotomayor hearings were a total snoozefest.

(The Alito hearings were slightly better, thanks to the dramatic exit from the hearing room of a weeping Martha-Ann Alito. Her tearful star turn generated huge sympathy for Justice Alito, torpedoed the efforts of Democrats to manufacture controversy out of Concerned Alumni of Princeton, and guaranteed SAA’s confirmation, then and there.)

Finally, it seems that Chief Justice Roberts may have followed ATL’s coverage of the false rumor of his imminent retirement (here, here and here). From Josh Blackman:

Also, on a lighter note, around 1:00:00 [in the podcast], Chief Justice Roberts jokes that the professor who started the rumor about his retirement has been so overwhelmed, he has decided to leave teaching.

Not true, not true! Despite considering resigning, Professor Peter Tague will remain on the Georgetown Law faculty, Above the Law has exclusively learned.

[FN1] “Screwing up the oath” is from Obama’s point of view. As we’ve discussed (and even polled you about), reasonable people can differ about who was to blame for the oath-of-office snafu.

White House Vs. Supreme Court: It’s Getting Ridiculous [CBS News]
Chief Justice Roberts Quote About Originalism at University of Alabama [Josh Blackman's Blog]
Justice Roberts Talks About Clerks, Oral Argument, & State Of The Union [The Faculty Lounge]
Chief justice unsettled by Obama’s criticism of Supreme Court [Los Angeles Times]

Earlier: Quote of the Day: The Umpire Strikes Back
SCOTUS Slammed at SOTU; Alito Mouths ‘Not True’ at the President
Obama’s Oath of Office, Take Two
Whoops. How does that Constitution go?

Supreme Court – United States – Barack Obama – President – John Roberts