John Yoo, a conservative law professor at University of California at Berkeley who served as deputy assistant attorney general during President Bush's first term, said the fact that Miers did not object to the policy "is another worrying sign that her real views on the kind of issues she'll decide on the Supreme Court are not as conservative as President Bush suggests."
"When you start setting numbers like that, you can call it a goal or anything else, but it smells like a quota," he said. "The message is pretty clear -- you are encouraging hiring based on race."
Bush has said he opposes quotas, and in a major 2003 Supreme Court case on affirmative action, his administration argued against race-based admissions policies at the University of Michigan. But the administration, led by Gonzales, disappointed conservatives by pressing a narrow argument that objected only to the way in which Michigan had pursued diversity, not to the diversity rationale for affirmative action itself.
But... but... but... trust Bush!
What the Post missed is that Miers was reportedly more vocal than usual about this case--aligning herself with Gonzales but not leaving a paper trail that shows her role in fighting the outright opposition to preferences that Ted Olson wanted to take.
The only corroboration is from people who were there:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1502612/posts