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 Obama told senators he has a constitutional duty to nominate a new
justice after Saturday's death of conservative Justice Antonin
Scalia and reminded them of their constitutional obligation to "do
their job" and vote to approve or reject his nominee.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the seat on the
nation's highest court should remain vacant until Obama's successor
takes office in January so voters can have a say on the selection
when they cast ballots in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
"I'm amused when I hear people who claim to be strict interpreters
of the Constitution suddenly reading into it a whole series of
provisions that are not there," Obama said.
"The Constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen
now," Obama, a former constitutional law professor, told a news
conference at the close of a two-day meeting with leaders from
Southeast Asia.
In Washington, Scalia's chair in the court's ornate chamber was
draped with black wool crepe in accordance with court tradition
following a justice's death.
 The court said Scalia's body will lie in repose at the Supreme Court
building on Friday before his funeral Mass at the Basilica of the
National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington on
Saturday.
Obama's nominee could shift the balance of power on the court, which
had five conservatives and four liberals before Scalia's death.
The president said he understood the high stakes for Republican
senators under pressure to vote against his pick for the lifetime
appointment, who conceivably would be the deciding vote in cases
where the court is split.
'VENOM AND RANCOR'
Obama said the "venom and rancor in Washington" has led to the
Senate routinely blocking his nominations for lower courts and other
posts but said the Supreme Court is too important to get trapped in
political gridlock.
"It's the one court where we would expect elected officials to rise
above day-to-day politics," he said.
But Republicans have pointed out that Obama and members of his
cabinet, who were then in the Senate, were not above trying to block
the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Samuel Alito by
then-President George W. Bush in 2006.
"While he complained about filibusters today, he joined filibusters
while in the Senate," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate
Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Asked about his record, Obama acknowledged Democrats have played
politics with nominations, too, through what he described as
"strategic decisions" that ultimately did not block the president's
nominee.
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"But what is also true is Justice Alito is on the bench right now,"
Obama said.
OBAMA'S STRATEGY
Obama shed little light on whom he would choose or how the White
House will try to finesse his choice through Congress.
"We're going to find somebody who is an outstanding legal mind,
somebody who cares deeply about our democracy and cares about rule
of law," Obama said.
"I'm going to present somebody who indisputably is qualified for the
seat, and any fair-minded person, even somebody who disagrees with
my politics, would say would serve with honor and integrity on the
court," he added.
Asked directly if that meant he would choose a moderate candidate,
Obama said, "No."
He said there was "more than enough time" for the Senate to hold
hearings and vote on his nominee without the White House needing to
resort to a procedure known as a recess appointment to get around
the Senate when it is not in session.
But he did not explicitly rule out a recess appointment.
Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, whose panel
weighs Supreme Court nominations, said on Tuesday he will wait until
Obama names his pick to fill the vacancy before deciding whether to
hold confirmation hearings.
Grassley has offered mixed messages since Scalia's death on how the
Senate should proceed on the vacancy, alternating hardline views on
blocking any nominee with comments not ruling out hearings.
"I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any
decisions" about confirmation hearings, Grassley said, according to
Radio Iowa. "In other words, take it a step at a time."
(Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley, Richard Cowan, Ayesha
Rascoe, Julia Edwards and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Will Dunham and
Roberta Rampton; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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