Kenendy on Alito

It's a fair question, and one that Alito may hear over and over again:

"I was somewhat troubled by the 1985 memorandum that has been made public," Kennedy said shortly after the one-on-one session with the federal appeals court judge in his Senate office.

Alito's abortion views from 20 years ago stoked fresh controversy as he made courtesy calls on Kennedy and other senators on Capitol Hill.

"I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government argued that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," Alito wrote in the memo, citing his previous work helping the government prepare cases.

Kennedy said Alito, 55, told him he wrote the memo as someone "who was interested in getting a job" in the Justice Department as deputy assistant attorney general.

"So I asked him, 'Why shouldn't we consider that the answers you are giving today are an application for another job?" Kennedy said.