July 2, 1991:
THE PRESIDENT: I have followed this man's career for some time, and he has excelled in everything that he has attempted. He is a delightful and warm, intelligent person, who has great empathy and a wonderful sense of humor. He's also a fiercely independent thinker with an excellent legal mind who believes passionately in equal opportunity for all Americans. He will approach the cases that come before the Court with a commitment to deciding them fairly, as the facts and the law require.
"This man," of course, was then-Judge Clarence Thomas upon his nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States, and I don't recall any conservatives complaining about his empathy and his lifetime experience being employed as arguments in his favor.