The Great Schism
The old news is that a majority of juridically minded conservatives have now taken to telling Bush, "Cut the shit." But just how bad is the pre-midterm Republican Thermidor shaping up to be? Well, eleven months ago, would this --
"People ask me why I picked Harriet Miers," Mr. Bush told reporters in the Oval Office. "They want to know Harriet Miers's background, they want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers's life is her religion."
-- have been so collapsible a pretense as to precipitate this?
Republican staff members on the Judiciary Committee usually research and prepare arguments to defend the president's nominees. But Republican staff members on the panel said committee lawyers were doing research to rebut the "talking points" the White House has provided for senators to support Ms. Miers's nomination.
Get well soon, Karl!--MICHAEL WEISS