TRENTON, N.J. — Samuel A. Alito Jr. got his first job in a courthouse because of his father, who had made a lasting impression on a federal judge years earlier.
If Alito ascends to the Supreme Court, it again may be due in part to the lasting influence of his late father, a researcher for the New Jersey Legislature who was known for his penetrating mind and exemplary work -- but also for never discussing his personal politics.
The elder Alito "knew politics up and down," said a former co-worker, Albert Porroni. But he said that Alito never so much as hinted at his views on the events then roiling the political landscape, including the Vietnam War, Watergate and President Nixon's resignation.
Those who know President Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee speak in similar terms of a man who has impressed colleagues at every stop in his legal career and rendered judicial opinions that mark him as a conservative -- even while disdaining any label and keeping an almost allergic distance from discussions of ideology or politics.
Former colleagues praise Alito's legal acumen and quiet affability, but describe him as essentially apolitical. He is registered as a Republican in West Caldwell, N.J., but Federal Election Commission records dating to 1983-84 show no campaign contributions in his or his wife's name. Even longtime neighbors said he was so reticent that some on the block didn't know he was a judge.
"Summertime, in the backyard, we would have barbecues and would never, ever talk about anything involving his work or politics," said Alex Panzano, who lives across the street from the Alitos in the Newark suburb.
Avoiding controversy has practically become a prerequisite to succeeding as a Supreme Court nominee. But Alito, 55, has taken such reticence to a new level.
As Bush said, Alito may be the most experienced nominee in 70 years. Yet despite a long and voluminous record, Alito has carefully followed in the footsteps of his father, earning praise and higher positions with his keen intellect while always striving to separate his job from the politics swirling around it.
"Judges should be judges," Alito said in an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger last summer, before he surfaced as a high court nominee. "They shouldn't be legislators, they shouldn't be administrators."
