President-elect Barack Obama paid a visit Wednesday to the Supreme Court and chatted in front of a fireplace with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., a fellow Harvard law graduate whose confirmation he opposed three years ago.

The two will meet again at noon Tuesday, when the chief justice gives the oath of the office to the incoming president.

Wednesday’s meeting was described as a relaxed, get-acquainted session. It included Roberts, seven associate justices and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

The absence of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who was at the court Wednesday morning for arguments in two cases, was a mystery. He has, however, voiced lingering anger over Senate Democrats, including Obama and Biden, who voted against his confirmation three years ago. When walking on Capitol Hill, Alito has said, he crosses to the far side of the street whenever he nears the Senate Office Building.

Associate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is anything but a hypocrite. Obama and Biden gave him a rough,difficult time during his confirmation and Biden even for a time supported a filibuster of Alito’s nomination. So, why bother with even being pleasant? They were not very kind to Alito who when nominated was already a federal appellate justice.

Flap wrote many pieces about Alito’s fight for confirmation and can be found in the Alito Archive here.

Exit question: Wonder what Alito thought of George Will’s little dinner party the other night?