The Trail

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

BUSH, CHENEY WEIGH IN

Praise for Palin

President Bush and Vice President Cheney praised Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in separate interviews, calling the Republican vice presidential nominee "an inspired pick" and a "good candidate."

"I find her to be a very dynamic, capable, smart woman who, you know, it really says that John McCain made an inspired pick, to me," Bush said in an interview to be aired Tuesday morning on "Fox & Friends."

"She's had executive experience, and that's what it takes to be a capable person here in Washington, D.C., in the executive branch," Bush said in excerpts released by Fox.

Cheney, commenting for the first time on his potential successor, dismissed suggestions that she may not be up for the job.

"We've had all kinds of vice presidents over the years. Everybody brings a different set of experiences to the office and also a different kind of understanding with whoever the president is," Cheney told the group of reporters traveling with him in Rome.

"Each administration is different," added Cheney, whose long experience in Washington before becoming Bush's running mate laid the groundwork for his role as one of the most powerful vice presidents in history.

"And there's no reason why Sarah Palin can't be a successful vice president in a McCain administration. It won't look exactly like the Bush administration or the first Bush administration, the Ford administration. It'll be relatively unique to this president and this time that they're in office."

Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention last week "was superb," Cheney said. "Watched that with great interest. I loved some of her lines."

"What was the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? 'It's lipstick,' " he paraphrased, laughing. "I think she's a good candidate, and I don't see any reason why she can't be an effective vice president."

-- Michael Abramowitz

VOTING-LAW CONCERNS

Assurances on Nov. 4

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey met Monday with civil rights groups concerned that some voters will be denied access to the polls in November's election and assured them the department will be vigilant about enforcing voting laws.

Grace Chung Becker, the acting head of Justice's Civil Rights Division, told reporters after the session that hundreds of federal observers will monitor elections throughout the country, although she said it is too early to predict precise numbers or locations. She said roughly 500 Justice staffers and federal observers have monitored elections so far this year in 17 states.

The department would have a "comprehensive program" to enforce laws on ballot access, she said, and "let the chips fall where they may."

Several representatives from voting rights groups, however, said they were disappointed that most of the session was devoted to a general review of voting laws rather than details on how Justice will deploy for the presidential contest. Some said they were wary, given what they feel is the department's inaction on pending voting rights complaints, and recent Justice Department admissions of improper political considerations in hiring.

"There is a high bar . . . given the partisanship we have seen," said Peter Zamora, Washington regional counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Kristen Clarke, a lawyer with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said that until Justice elaborates more on its plans, "it is a wait-and-see approach from us."

-- Mary Pat Flaherty