Democrats On Offense

By backing Judge Roberts, some Democrats argue, the party will have more credibility if it takes on the president's nominee for Justice O'Connor's seat, one that arguably is more important because she has played a critical role in rulings on issues such as affirmative action and abortion rights.

By the way, I'm in New York, where I covered the Peter Jennings memorial service, which you can read about here.

I question whether this Washington Post article would have been a front-page story before Michael "Arabian Horse" Brown, but here it is:

"The Bush administration is seeking to appoint a lawyer with little immigration or customs experience to head the troubled law enforcement agency that handles those issues, prompting sharp criticism from some employee groups, immigration advocates and homeland security experts.

"The push to appoint Julie Myers to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, comes in the midst of intense debate over the qualifications of department political appointees involved in the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina."

The key paragraph:

"Her uncle is Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the departing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She married Chertoff's current chief of staff, John F. Wood, on Saturday."

Conservative blogger Michelle Malkin, who often sides with the administration, unloads on this one:

"Oh, give me a circ*&%$# break and a half! This nomination is a monumental political and policy blunder in the wake of the Michael Brown/FEMA fiasco. And I can tell you that contrary to the Miss Mary Sunshine White House spokeswoman's comments, rank-and-file DHS employees and immigration enforcement officials are absolutely livid about Myers' nomination.

"Everything was supposed to change after 9/11. No more business as usual, blah blah blah. But when it comes to immigration enforcement and border security, Bush keeps installing clueless cronies."

Bloggers against pork seems to be getting some traction, based on this post from Tapscott's Copy Desk:

"The concept behind Porkbusters - brainchild of N.Z. Bear and Instapundit's Glenn Reynolds - is getting a big boost on Capitol Hill. Rep. Ron Lewis, R-KY, is circulating a 'Dear Colleague' letter challenging fellow Members of Congress to join him in asking the House to adopt a one-year moratorium on all 'non-defense earmarks.' That's Washingtonese for 'pork barrel projects.'"