Posted on 09/03/2007 9:53:28 PM PDT by Roberts
Karl Rove told George W. Bush before the 2000 election that it was a bad idea to name Richard B. Cheney as his running mate, and Rove later raised objections to the nomination of Harriet E. Miers to the Supreme Court, according to a new book on the Bush presidency.
In "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George Bush," journalist Robert Draper writes that Rove told Bush he should not tap Cheney for the Republican ticket: "Selecting Daddy's top foreign-policy guru ran counter to message. It was worse than a safe pick -- it was needy." But Bush did not care -- he was comfortable with Cheney and "saw no harm in giving his VP unprecedented run of the place."
When Rove, President Bush's top political adviser, expressed concerns about the Miers selection, he was "shouted down" and subsequently muted his objections, Draper writes, while other advisers did not realize the outcry the nomination would cause within the president's conservative political base.
It was John G. Roberts Jr., now the chief justice of the United States, who suggested Miers to Bush as a possible Supreme Court justice, according to the book. Miers, the White House counsel and a Bush loyalist from Texas, did not want the job, but Bush and first lady Laura Bush prevailed on her to accept the nomination, Draper writes.
After Miers withdrew in the face of the conservative furor, Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. was selected and confirmed for the seat.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
They all need to walk around and talk to real people more, fat chance!
“Karl Rove told George W. Bush before the 2000 election that it was a bad idea to name Richard B. Cheney as his running mate”
Trying to imagine what this administration would have been like without Cheney in the picture... *shudder*
Bush values personal loyalty above all else. McClellan and Gonzales also proved that (despite the fact they were in over their heads).
Roberts has officially denied this thru a Supreme Court spokeswoman. Seeing as how Miers was Bush's longtime close friend and advisor, and came from the Texas world that Bush inhabited before coming to Washington, I tend to believe Roberts. Bush didn't need any outside help to suggest her nomination. What he needed was somebody to tell him he was crazy to consider her.
On the selection of Cheney, Bush made the right move. Good one. On the issue of Meyers, I disagreed with him, but it was his appointment to make flawed or not. If he felt she was the right person he should have appointed her. Still, it was my right to disagree.
To tell the truth, it’s nice to see Bush making his own moves over the objections of others. The claim for too long has been that he was allowing others to make them for him. This should help dispel that lunacy.
Don't know... but I like how things turned out.
I don't think we're anywhere close to knowing "how things turned out."
Sorry. I should have read the post you were replying to before posting that.
We know now how the Cheney picked “turned out.”
What we don’t know yet is how his SC picks “turned out.”
I’d be surprised if there weren’t “dissent” in the inner circles. Pres. Bush may value loyalty and service, but he doesn’t seem to want syncopantic yes-men around him.
EVEN BEFORE THE COCK CROWS -——————————
Dissent in the inner circle?!?? OMG like that’s NEVER happened before.
This sounds plausible. We saw how emotional and stubborn W was in defense of the pick.
But this doesn't sound plausible:
It was John G. Roberts Jr., now the chief justice of the United States, who suggested Miers to Bush as a possible Supreme Court justice, according to the book.
This just doesn't pass the smell test. I have no reason to disbelieve Roberts denial either. Hence where did Draper get this version of events...and what are they trying to accomplish? Besmirchment of Roberts at a minimum...and who would be seeking to do that besides the Washington Post itself?
I wish Bush had listened to Rove and picked a Florida Republican (not his brother obviously). Then we would have won Florida by a better margin and all the stolen election crap would have been avoided.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.