Beef
Some people I know and respect are apoplectic these days over something Bush said about his latest Supreme Court pick: "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."
Here's CBS News reporting it:
Here's the Houston Chronicle:
And so on, down the line. No wonder people are upset.
But maybe it's because I've been in this business for a long time that I don't get all worked up over a quote like that till I see it in context.
Specifically, I want to know, did Bush just bring that up out of the blue, or was he answering a question? And if the latter, what was the question?
Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, we all can check the transcript.
So it seems it wasn't something brought up. He didn't call a press conference to talk about Harriet Miers. It was a press conference with the leader of Poland, in which Bush talked about Polish-American relations, which are important in the world today.
Then he opened up the floor to questions, and the domestic press instantly took him off-topic and onto what it wanted him to talk about.
But the way the news stories are written, you'd never know that, would you?
About Miers, as I've said elsewhere, I thought she was a weak pick from the start, for a matrix of reasons none of which was sufficient in itself to turn me against her. Lack of court experience by itself is not a killer, nor is being a close friend of the president. But add them up, and the scale tips against her.
An attempt to smuggle a religious zealot stealth candidate onto the court would be strike three, to me. But I’m not yet convinced that this is what’s happening.
Here's CBS News reporting it:
The White House tried Wednesday to patch a growing fissure in the Republican Party over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers by pointing to her conservative religious beliefs. "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion," President Bush said.
Here's the Houston Chronicle:
President Bush on Wednesday moved religion to the forefront of the debate over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, defending his administration's work behind the scenes to inform social conservatives about her Christian faith.
"People ask me why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush said. "They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."
Bush's remarks appeared to further inflame the controversy over the nomination.
And so on, down the line. No wonder people are upset.
But maybe it's because I've been in this business for a long time that I don't get all worked up over a quote like that till I see it in context.
Specifically, I want to know, did Bush just bring that up out of the blue, or was he answering a question? And if the latter, what was the question?
Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, we all can check the transcript.
We'll take a couple of questions. Deirdre.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Why do people in this White House feel it's necessary to tell your supporters that Harriet Miers attends a very conservative Christian church? Is that your strategy to repair the divide that has developed among conservatives over her nominee?
PRESIDENT BUSH: People ask me why I picked Harriet Miers. They want to know Harriet Miers' background; they want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion. Part of it has to do with the fact that she was a pioneer woman and a trailblazer in the law in Texas. I remind people that Harriet Miers is one of the -- has been rated consistently one of the top 50 women lawyers in the United States. She's eminently qualified for the job. And she has got a judicial philosophy that I appreciate; otherwise I wouldn't have named her to the bench, which is -- or nominated her to the bench -- which is that she will not legislate from the bench, but strictly interpret the Constitution.
So our outreach program has been just to explain the facts to people. But, more importantly, Harriet is going to be able to explain the facts to the people when she testifies. And people are going to see why I named her -- nominated her to the bench, and she's going to make a great Supreme Court judge.
So it seems it wasn't something brought up. He didn't call a press conference to talk about Harriet Miers. It was a press conference with the leader of Poland, in which Bush talked about Polish-American relations, which are important in the world today.
Then he opened up the floor to questions, and the domestic press instantly took him off-topic and onto what it wanted him to talk about.
But the way the news stories are written, you'd never know that, would you?
About Miers, as I've said elsewhere, I thought she was a weak pick from the start, for a matrix of reasons none of which was sufficient in itself to turn me against her. Lack of court experience by itself is not a killer, nor is being a close friend of the president. But add them up, and the scale tips against her.
An attempt to smuggle a religious zealot stealth candidate onto the court would be strike three, to me. But I’m not yet convinced that this is what’s happening.
