Scalia: Tantrum Over--for Now

Laffer of the day:

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday that he had not expected President Bush to nominate him to replace the late William Rehnquist as chief justice.

"I'm not even sure I wanted it, to tell you the truth," Scalia told reporters at a media briefing before a gala dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan...

Scalia said the time he would have had to devote to administering the court as chief justice would have taken away from his thinking and writing. However, he said, "The honor would have been wonderful."

Yeah, right.

Scalia additionally noted the grapes just out of his reach "were probably sour anyway," and that he never really did like the first girl who ever broke up with him. OK, no, he didn't say that, but:

Asked if he knew why he wasn't nominated, Scalia said the reason "is locked in the heart of the president."

And:

Scalia was the only justice who did not attend a September 29 White House swearing-in ceremony for Roberts. Scalia said Saturday that he had a commitment that could not be broken.

According the Federalist Society Web site, he was leading a two-day seminar on the separation of powers in Avon, Colorado.

That, AND there was the keynote address at the Moab, Utah Optimist Club to consider. After all, commitments are commitments.

Finally:

Scalia, who is of Italian-American heritage, was in New York to serve as the grand marshal of Manhattan's Columbus Day Parade on Monday.

My guess is they're sizing him up to determine how many rope handlers will be needed for NEXT year's Columbus Day parade--when he can serve as a float.