he was probably closest to justice ruth bader ginsberg and her husband. here is what she had to say about him. she talked about the fact that we are different but we are one, in talking about an operatic duet, they were best buddies. that's her quote. we disagreed now and then but when i wrote for the court and received a scalia dissent, it was notably better than my initial circulation. she said, he gave me what i needed, he was a jurist with a rare talent to make people laugh. he had a great sense of humor. she talked about the fact he was a magnificent performer. it was my great good fortune to have known him as a colleague and treasured friend. and also he really took the newest justice kagan under his wing. they couldn't have been more different. scalia will go down in history as one of the most transformational justices in our nation. his views on interpresenting text have changed the way all of us think and talk about the law. i admire him for his dedication, energy, and writing. i treasured his friendship and will greatly miss his warmth, charm, m

and that is justice ruth bader ginsberg. bill clinton appointee and literally his opposite number ideologically. yet, justice ginsberg and her husband before he passed away a few years ago probably spent more time with justice and mrs. scalia than any member of the court. by the way, one of the reasons justice scalia was so active in the friendly sense of st. patrick is because mrs. scalia's name is maureen murphy. and i have to tell you, i was with him many times when the sort of italian-irish rivalry was debated over the dinner table. and she would look to me and say, you won't be fair because he's one of you, nino. >> the bushes, george w. bush and laura bush out with a statement saying, laura and i mourn the death of an important journalist, supreme court justice antonin scalia. he broughtjudgment, intellect and wit to the bench and will be missed by his colleagues in the country. laura and i send our heart felt condolences to his wife maureen and their nine children and the entire scalia family. in the import of what th