Chief Justice Roberts 'Troubled' by Scene at the State of the Union Address

March 10, 2010 -- It's been a busy few days for Chief Justice John Roberts. Last week, he was the subject of a viral Internet rumor that he was going to retire, and last night the White House pounced on comments he made about the partisan atmosphere at the State of the Union address.

Roberts said Tuesday that he was "very troubled" by the "setting, circumstance and decorum" of the State of the Union speech, where justices are forced to sit expressionless while Congress "literally surrounds them," at times cheering and hollering.

At the most recent State of the Union speech in January, President Obama criticized a recent Supreme Court decision that invalidated decades-old federal legislation restricting corporate expenditures on electoral advocacy.

Six of the nine justices of the Supreme Court were sitting in the audience, and the cameras captured Justice Samuel Alito shaking his head in disagreement when Obama said, "With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates."

Democratic senators sitting close to the justices stood up and cheered the president's words.

Roberts said in an appearance at the University of Alabama Law School Tuesday that the experience of one branch confronting another in such a partisan atmosphere made him feel uncomfortable.

"To the extent the State of the Union has degenerated into a political pep rally, I'm not sure why we are there," Roberts said.

On Tuesday night, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs released a written statement defending the president's actions.

"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 statement read. "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."