The Prosecutor Zeroes In

Miers Watch

As always, The Washington Post's Fred Barbash is blogging all the latest Supreme Court-related developments.

But a few highlights:

David G. Savage writes in the Los Angeles Times: "Critics have poked fun at the effusive greeting card messages that Harriet E. Miers used to send to then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush and that have become public following her nomination to the Supreme Court.

"The glowing remarks were not limited to greeting cards, according to the texts of recent speeches and other public remarks released Monday by lawmakers."

For example: " 'I was with him on Sept. 11th, 2001,' she said in June. 'The nation witnessed a resolute, determined, strong leader who swiftly responded to the challenges our country faced. . . . I believe I can say for all of us here, never were we so proud to be Americans, and never were we so proud of a president and first lady.' "

Rick Klein writes in the Boston Globe: "Earlier this year, Supreme Court nominee Harriet E. Miers used several speeches to push for expanding President Bush's powers to protect the United States against terrorism, arguing that 'a nation at war' needs a stronger executive branch, according to transcripts the White House has provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee."

Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post that Bush's hosting of a dozen former Texas Supreme Court justices in the Oval Office yesterday "was intended to quash talk that Bush might withdraw the nomination, officials said." Here's the text of the remarks at that photo op.

Dana Milbank writes in The Washington Post about the big Miers relaunch: "President Bush, in the Oval Office with some Texas jurists who back Miers, said his Supreme Court nominee has 'high character' and 'integrity,' is 'a pioneer' and a 'leader' and is one of the top 'women lawyers' who would bring 'excellence to the bench.' Miers 'will be a superb Supreme Court judge,' Bush said.

"This was meant to be an improvement on the announcement of Miers's nomination two weeks earlier, in which Bush praised her 'character' and 'integrity' and called her a 'pioneer' and a 'leader' among 'women lawyers' known for her 'professional excellence.' Miers is a 'superb choice,' he said back then."

The Conservative Crackup

In his Post story, Baker writes that the enormous, well-financed conservative political apparatus "constructed largely by Bush strategist Karl Rove and deployed effectively on behalf of recently confirmed Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has splintered over Miers and broken free from its commander."

As Baker notes, David Keene , chairman of the American Conservative Union, wrote yesterday in The Hill that many of his friends "swallowed policies" they opposed out of loyalty to Bush.

"No more," Keene wrote.

"From now on, this administration will find it difficult to muster support on the right without explaining why it should be forthcoming. The days of the blank check have ended because no thinking conservative really wants to be part of a team that requires marching in lock step without question or thought, even if it is headed by the president of the United States."

Bruce Bartlett writes on Townhall.com: "The truth that is now dawning on many movement conservatives is that George W. Bush is not one of them and never has been."

Richard W. Stevenson writes in the New York Times, that Bartlett was dismissed on Monday as a senior fellow at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a conservative research group based in Dallas, after he supplied its president with the manuscript of his forthcoming book, "The Impostor: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy."

Sacrifice Card?

Some of the same conservatives opposing the Miers nomination are pointing fingers at White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.

Anne E. Kornblut writes in the New York Times: "His office oversaw the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, coordinating federal assistance that was broadly condemned as too slow. Mr. Card personally managed the selection of Harriet E. Miers for the Supreme Court, a choice that has splintered the Republican Party and left the administration scrambling to rescue her nomination.

"The confluence of crises, all running through Mr. Card's suite just steps from the Oval Office, has some critics asking whether he needs to clean house or assert himself more forcefully - or at least consider a course correction before Mr. Bush is downgraded permanently to lame duck status."

Torture Watch

Alessandra Stanley writes in the New York Times about " The Torture Question ," a "Frontline" inquiry on PBS tonight.

" 'The Torture Question' methodically makes the case that pressure to wring more information out of prisoners came from the highest echelons of the White House and the Pentagon, well before the 2003 invasion of Iraq with captives from Afghanistan held at Guantnamo Bay, Cuba, and worked its way down to the lowliest, most ill-trained soldiers."

Briefing Watch

Here is the text of yesterday's press briefing with Scott McClellan.

See Helen Thomas try to get McClellan to explain what Bush means when he talks about "legislating from the bench."

Thomas: "For example, is Brown versus the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas -- was that legislating? Was Miranda legislating? Was the right to a lawyer legislating from the bench?"

McClellan: "These are great questions. I'm not the one who's going through the confirmation process."

See McClellan rue the day he gave briefing room crank Les Kinsolving a homework assignment:

Kinsolving: "Scott, on Wednesday you encouraged me to look at news reports about scandals surrounding the Texas lottery when Harriet Miers was chairwoman of that commission. And it turns out there are hundreds of news reports from the late '90s covering problems with contracts and kickbacks. . . . "

( Ken Herman of the Cox News service yesterday reported: "Those who delve into Miers' lottery years will find a story spiced with political intrigue and rife with charges and countercharges lodged by and involving a colorful cast of characters -- and, tangentially, a story involving President Bush's much-discussed National Guard service.")

There was a first-timer in the room yesterday, Maria Hinojosa of NPR, and her questions prompted McCllelan to explain how things work there.

"People that work here in this room know me very well, and I'm confident in our relationship. It's a relationship that is built on trust. And I'm confident that I have done my part to earn that trust," he said. "And I have great respect for the people in this room that I've worked with for many years, and they're a good bunch. I have deep respect for all that they do and the hard work that they do. . . .

"And one final point. Nothing is ever personal in this room. We're all just doing our job, and I recognize that, and I think people in this room recognize it, as well."

Upstairs, Downstairs

President Bush hosted the annual White House Iftaar dinner last night. Iftaar is the evening meal after a day of fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. Here is the text of his remarks.

The Associated Press reports that he called on all responsible Muslim leaders to denounce violent extremism because terrorists follow an ideology that exploits Islam.

"Attendees included ambassadors from Islamic nations, administration officials and Muslim leaders in the United States.

"The group interrupted Bush's brief remarks once, when he said a Quran has been added to the White House library for the first time in history."

One interesting note: According to the guest list, Bush's dinner companions were almost without exception male. See, for instance, this photo .

By contrast, Laura Bush was holding an almost exclusively female Iftaar dinner at the same time upstairs in the White House residence, featuring some of the Afghan women she met during a visit to their country in March.

Rove's Garage

Things are apparently pretty slow on the Karl Rove stakeout.

Darlene Superville wrote -- and the Associated Press actually moved on the wires -- a story about Rove's garage.

"Rove's wife, Darby, raised the white garage door one morning last week to show journalists outside the million-dollar brick home that the deputy chief of staff, assistant to the president and senior adviser wasn't home. . . .

"There was no car in the garage. And the stuff left behind turned out not to be much different from what gathers dust inside most American garages."

Good grief. It's not like there isn't a lot of news out there. And yes, here's a picture .