Free Republic

We need a fool in the White House. No, I've not joined the leftist Bush-is-an-idiot crowd. The president is a smart man, but he's in deep trouble. And no one in the White House seems willing to tell him why, which is where an official fool -- or White House jester, if you prefer -- would come in handy. In the Middle Ages, the court fool was often the only person who could point out the king's foibles and live to tell about it. No less than some medieval castle, the White House can become a haven for yes-men (and...

White House Wants A Do-Over On Miers Time Magazine reports today that the White House recognizes that they have muffed the Harriet Miers nomination, and want a second chance to make a first impression. After having argued almost everything except a track record that would settle questions about why President Bush selected her over more obviously qualified candidates, the administration admits it screwed up and plans a new public argument for her confirmation: Get ready for a whole new Harriet. After a disastrous two weeks, White House officials say they hope to relaunch the nomination of Harriet Miers for the...

She called for increased funding for legal services for the poor and suggested that taxes might have to be raised to achieve the notion of "justice for all." She praised the benefits of diversity, called for measures that would send more minority students to law schools, and said that just because a woman was the head of the state bar did not mean that "all unfair barriers for women have been eradicated." She was upset that although poverty was rising in Texas, impoverished families received a disproportionately small share of welfare and Medicaid benefits. ... Dallas lawyer Mark Curriden said...

The nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court has splintered President Bush's base and triggered a growing demand from his own supporters to withdraw her nomination. "What a stupid, stupid mistake," said Mark W. Smith, a member of the conservative Federalist Society who has actively supported Mr. Bush but wants to see the nomination withdrawn. "You cannot fix this for 25 years." Conservatives have stuck with Mr. Bush through the bloodiest and gloomiest days of the war in Iraq, held firm as administration officials are investigated for revealing a CIA operative's identity and given him a pass on the...

President Bush last week expressed his confidence in the constancy of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, saying that "20 years from now she'll be the same person, with the same philosophy," as she is today. White House aides making the case for Miers, meanwhile, have been insisting that she is a reliable conservative. Since she has no judicial record and has had little to say about constitutional law, we can only guess at what her judicial philosophy might be, if indeed she has one at all. But if she is a political conservative, then she has not remained constant over...

The problem is not that Harriet Miers stands outside the elite legal establishment but that she is very much part of it. The Bush administration, searching here and there for a marketing point to quiet skeptical conservatives, has been touting her simple, populist virtues. But her substantial involvement in the American Bar Association suggests she's spent far more time in the company of judicial activists than in the company of unfashionable originalists whose understanding of the Constitution corresponds to the common sense of ordinary Americans. Would that Miers did lack credentials. Unfortunately, she possesses the very conformist credentials the legal...

(AgapePress) - During a heartfelt and compassionate broadcast this morning (Wednesday), Dr. James Dobson explained why he believes Harriett Miers -- President Bush's pick to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the U.S. Supreme Court -- deserves the support of Christians and other family advocates. The Focus on the Family founder took all of his daily broadcast today to share why he believes the relatively unknown attorney from Texas who has served as White House counsel under the current Bush administration will be a good addition to the high court. He said he knows and has spoken to people who have...