WASHINGTON — Judge Samuel Alito said Monday that if he were confirmed to a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court, his first duty would be to the Constitution, and not to any political agenda.

"A judge can't have any agenda, any preferred outcome in a case. A judge's only obligation, and it's a solemn obligation, is to the rule of law," Alito said during his 10-minute opening statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Many senators on the committee said Monday that they were troubled by revelations last month that President George W. Bush had signed a directive in 2002 allowing the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless domestic wiretaps on American citizens' international communications, in the name of fighting terrorism.

"This hearing comes at a time of great national concern about the balance between civil rights and the President's national security authority," said Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).

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Alito's comments may be a preview of his responses to senators who say they plan to vigorously question the conservative judge on his opinions on two key issues: executive powers and abortion.

"We need to know that presidents and paupers will receive equal justice in your courtroom," Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, adding that "the president is not a king — free to take any action he chooses, without limitation by law," and that the "people are not subjects — powerless to control their own most intimate decisions."

Twenty-year-old documents from Alito's tenure in the Department of Justice — including an advisory memo to the U.S. Solicitor General and a job application for the position of Deputy Assistant Attorney General — indicate that Alito believed Roe v. Wade was a decision that "should be overruled," and that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."

Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who at one point mistakenly called the nominee "Judge Alioto," was among committee members who unanimously supported Alito's nomination in 1990 to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the position he now holds.

But after reviewing Alito's 15 years on the bench and memos from his work in the Department of Justice, Kennedy said Alito's record "troubles me deeply."

"I am gravely concerned by Judge Alito's clear record of support for vast presidential authority, unchecked by the other two branches of government," Kennedy said, adding that the Supreme Court must serve as "an independent check on abuses by the executive branch and a protector of our liberties, not as a cheerleader for an imperial presidency."

Some liberal senators said Alito, a confirmed Republican, may have a profound effect on the future of the nation, as he would be filling the seat of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has been the swing vote in an often divided court.

"[B]efore we give you the keys to the car," Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) told Alito, "we would like to know where you plan to take us."

As the lone female senator on the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was pleased that Alito told her in their private meetings that he respected the precedence of Roe, the 1973 case protecting a women's right to have an abortion.

However, Alito had some explaining to do with regard to his personal opinions expressed in those early memos, Feinstein said.

"We have a lot to learn about what your views are and your legal reasoning and how you would apply that legal reasoning," Feinstein said. "I hope you really will be straightforward with us, and thereby, really straightforward with the American people."

On the other side of the aisle, conservative Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who is a physician, questioned the morality of Roe.

Coburn characterized the "right to choose" as more of a "right of convenience to take a life."

"It is a real measure of society when we say it's fine to destroy unborn life," Coburn said. "We should care for those who have been ripped from the wombs of women."

Brownback took the opportunity to cite that this is 2006 and "between 80-90 percent of the children in America diagnosed with Down's syndrome will be killed in the womb."

"Roe has made it constitutional to kill a whole class of people solely because of genetic makeup," Brownback said. He did not cite the source of the statistic.

Chairman Specter asked the senators and the American people to withhold judgment, as the history of the Court "is full of surprises on this issue."

Specter noted that Justices David Souter and Anthony Kennedy both came to their confirmation hearings as outspoken opponents of abortion rights, yet both voted to uphold Roe in cases before the high court.

In the public gallery, both sides of the issue were quietly represented by men, women and children who wore lapel buttons reading, "Americans for Alito" or "No on Alito."

Alito, 55, wore a charcoal suit with a red tie, his thinning dark hair slightly askew. He was joined by his wife Martha, a former law librarian; his two children, Laura and Philip; his sister Rosemary, a prominent New Jersey lawyer; and his in-laws.

In contrast to Chief Justice John Roberts, who wore an earnest expression, leaning forward in his seat during his hearings in September, Alito sat back in his chair, appeared more relaxed, and kept a reserved expression during the three-hour-long opening statements from the 18-member committee.

On Tuesday morning, he will begin the first of two days of questioning.

Sen. Specter, who has been praised for keeping the Roberts' hearings dignified, asked for patience in the process, telling reporters outside the hearing room, "Let's give this guy a chance before we run him out of town on a rail."