• Conservatives remain committed to Roberts; final verification will come at confirmation hearings. [WP]
• Brownstein: “[Republican's] legislation that aims squarely at the priorities of conservatives and offers relatively few concessions to other perspectives. . . guarantees antagonism from Democrats and risks discontent among swing voters, who generally prefer the parties to moderate each other.” [LAT]
• Mother of soldier killed in Iraq creates conundrum for Bush as she captures the media’s attention by camping outside of his Crawford ranch: “I plan on staying here the entire month of August or until he comes out to talk to me.” [NYT, USAT]
• Approval of Bush is not boosted by upbeat economic indicators; could be “a spillover of respondents’ other worries, such as the war in Iraq and terrorism.” [WSJ]
• Roberts said in 2000 that nominees often “go their own way.” [WP]
• Bush stays busy in Crawford while aides take vacations; Nicolle Devenish is off to Greece for her wedding. [NYT]

MORE »

• Rush & Molloy: Radar speculates Karl Rove might be having an affair with lobbyist Karen Johnson. [NYDN]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Judith Miller’s husband boards a cruise while she serves time. [NYDN]
• Inside the Beltway: Andrew Card labels John Roberts a “conservative.” Gasp. [WT]
• The Scoop: M.A.C. cosmetics considers an advertising campaign about Tony Blair’s $3,000 makeup budget. [MSNBC]
• Cindy Adams: Could Bob Woodruff replace Peter Jennings? [NYP]