• Bush nominates White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace Sandra Day O’Connor. [CNN, AP]
• Fitzgerald may seek criminal conspiracy charge from leak investigation. “Scooter” Libby discussed Valerie Plame with at least two reporters but maintains he did not say her name or unveil her covert status; testimony of Libby and Karl Rove appears to contradict early White House statements. [WP]
• Tom DeLay: “I think it will be over and be over very, very soon, and I think I will go back and be majority leader.” Christopher Shays (R-Conn.): “We got elected basically by saying we would live by a higher moral standard, and I don’t think recently we have.” [LAT, USAT, WP, WT]
• Majority of governors want states, not the Pentagon, to oversee responses to national disasters. [USAT]

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• John Roberts confirmed as chief justice by vote of 78 to 22. Bush: “The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and a kind heart.” [WP, NYT, WSJ, LAT]
• Judith Miller is released from jail after she agrees to testify in leak investigation; she received a waiver of confidentiality from I. Lewis Libby. [WP, NYT]
• Senior military officials fear anarchy in Iraq if constitution is not approved as they expect. [NYT, WP]
• House Republicans elbow for leadership posts in wake of DeLay news; “there is no guarantee that his colleagues will want him back.” [NYT, WP, WP]
• DeLay proclaims innocence on media blitz; GOP fundraising expected to take a hit. [NYT, NYT, LAT]
• 71% approve of Bush’s response to Hurricane Rita, Gallup poll finds. [USAT]

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• Harry Reid, in surprise move, will vote against Roberts, citing concerns about women’s rights and civil rights. [WP, NYT, LAT, WT]
• Republican unity tested by divisions over how to cover high costs of Katrina relief. [WP, NYT]
• Democrats brace for strategic battle over O’Connor’s seat. [WSJ, WT]
• Arrested official did not disclose links to “controversial foreign clients”; Democrats cite arrest as need for independent inquiry into Katrina response. [WP, NYT]
• Nine Americans killed in Iraq over the past two days. [WP]
• House, Senate negotiators agree on $6b in tax breaks for Katrina relief. [WSJ]
• Bush praises Mississippi for “moving forward.” [WP]
• Katrina has not altered views on poverty; majority favored policy action a year ago. [USAT]
• Lawmakers milk Katrina to push pet causes. [LAT]
• Eight governors request investigation in gouging at the pumps. [NYT]
• Daschle interested in ‘08? [WP]

• White House shuffles list of possible successors to Sandra Day O’Connor; intention is to find nominee who will survive confirmation fight. Specter: “I think that there’s been a lot frustration on this one, and it’s been commented upon very broadly and I think that frustration may well be vented on the next nominee.” [NYT]
• Administration’s former lead federal procurement official arrested for allegedly lying and obstructing the investigation of Jack Abramoff. [WP, NYT]
• Administration’s nominee to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is faulted for having nominal experience. [WP]
• Domestic Security Advisor Frances Townsend will oversee the White House inquiry of the administration’s response to Katrina. [NYT]
• Al Qaeda takes credit for London bombings. Zawahri: “The blessed London attack was one which al Qaeda was honored to launch against the British Crusader’s arrogance and against the American Crusader aggression on the Islamic nation for 100 years.” [WP]
• Approval of Bush remains at 40% in USAT/Gallup poll; a record 66% of independents disapprove. [USAT]

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• Under the Dome: Katherine Harris cruises around in a silver BMW 645 convertible with a “Harris for Senate” bumper sticker. . . Rep. Chris Chocola (R-Ind.) is the best golfer in Congress, for what it’s worth. [The Hill]
• Names & Faces: James Rubin to host daily newscast on Sky Television. . . Sandra Day O’Connor publishes autobiographical children’s book. . . Wolf Blitzer seen dining with the president of the Washington Wizards. [WP]
• Inside the Beltway: 6 of 10 board members of the National Black Republican Association are expected to resign this week. . . Hurricane boosts Barbour’s chances in ‘08. [WT]
• Rush & Molloy: Bush plays phone prank on Rep. Peter King (R-L.I.). [NYDN]
• Page Six: Hillary distracted by pinstripes, or maybe it’s just the wallets inside. . . McGreevey seen with a “typical Chelsea guy.” [NYP, NYP]

• Approval of Bush slips to new lows: 38% in Newsweek poll and 42% in Time poll; 28% are “satisfied with the way things are going” in the country and 57% have lost confidence in the government since Katrina, Newsweek reports. [Newsweek, Time]
• White House did not comprehend the scope of Katrina until Thursday night; Dan Bartlett prepared a DVD of news clips for Bush’s flight south. “Problems cascaded and compounded; each mistake made the next mistake worse,” writes Evan Thomas. “Bush’s leadership style and the bureaucratic culture combined to produce a disaster within a disaster.” [Newsweek]
• Purported al Qaeda operative threatens Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia in new video message: “So don’t believe Bush and Blair. . . If your leaders really cared about anything other than protecting their own wealth, status and positions, then they wouldn’t attempt to hide the real reasons for our operations by telling you that we are bloodthirsty sadists, who kill out of mere hatred of freedom and the Western way of life. . . When it comes to defending our religion, our freedom, and our brothers in faith, every one of us is Mohammed Atta.” [ABC News, USAT]
• Roberts‘ confirmation hearings begin today at noon; Judiciary Committee members will also be scrutinized. [WP, NYT, USAT, LAT]
• Bush makes third trip to Gulf region. [WP, NYT]

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• Administration, citing “reasons of practicality and politics,” decided not to intervene early on with federal response to Katrina. Senior administration official: “Can you imagine how it would have been perceived if a president of the United States of one party had pre-emptively taken from the female governor of another party the command and control of her forces, unless the security situation made it completely clear that she was unable to effectively execute her command authority and that lawlessness was the inevitable result?” [NYT]
• Congress readily approves spending for Katrina relief efforts including $51.8b package; deficit likely to hit new record. [WP, WSJ, NYT, USAT]
• Democratic senators and strategists “are weighing whether to save their ammunition for the next nominee, who would succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, often the swing vote on social issues.” [NYT]
• Top FEMA officials lack experience; many were patronage appointments. [WP, LAT]
• Leadership and compassion from Bush is less visible now than after 9/11; approval rating is down to 40% in Pew poll and 42% in Gallup poll think Bush’s response to Katrina was bad or terrible. [NYT, USAT]
• Democrats do not approve of Katrina inquiry proposed by Republicans. [WP, NYT]
• Cheney tours Gulf Coast: “There’s no question there were problems with respect to the evacuation in New Orleans. We’ve gotten around that problem now, and I think everyone’s focused on the future.” [NYT]

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• Congress will approve $51.8b relief package for Katrina; joint House-Senate inquiry into hurricane response is approved. Budget director: “This will not be the last request.” [WP, WSJ, NYT]
• Politicians look to gain momentum from Katrina fallout. Rothenberg: “Politicians see this as a potentially defining event and they are worried how they are going to be seen. Politicians realize that public opinion could turn on this, just the way it turned on 9/11.” [WSJ, WP]
• Democrats launch multi-front attack on administration’s response to Katrina. Pelosi on Bush: “Oblivious. In denial. Dangerous.” Kerry: “What you see here is a harvest of four years of complete avoidance of real problem solving and real governance in favor of spin and ideology.” [NYT]
• Hillary stirs up opposition with Katrina-related proposals as strategists warn Democratic rhetoric could backfire; “Privately, [Bill Clinton] has been incredulous over what he regards as the administration’s failure to grasp quickly the perilous situation materializing in New Orleans, particularly for poor African Americans.” [WP, LAT]
• Rehnquist showed “how a wise man looks at the law and a good man looks at life,” Bush eulogizes. [WP, NYT, USAT]

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In this White House pool report, notes on Sandra Day O’Connor’s eulogy for Chief Justice Rehnquist:

“He never twisted arms to get a vote on a case. He relied on the power of his arguments,’’ she said. O’Connor, who grew up on a ranch, said he ran the court like an accomplished rider handles a horse.

“The really expert riders of horses let the horse know immediately who is in control, but then they guide the horse with loose reins and very seldom use the spurs. So it was with our chief. He guided us with loose reins and used the spurs only rarely to get us up to speed with our work,” she said.

We don’t mind a little whip now and again ourselves, but, hey, we knew there was a reason we liked the guy. Also, we hope to we have enough spark to sass doctors from our deathbed, too:

“And he never lost his sense of humor. As he was being examined in the emergency room of a local hospital in the final week of his life, the examining physician asked who was his primary care doctor. `My dentist,’ he struggled to say, with a twinkle in his eye.”

Full report after the jump.

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• Bush nominates Roberts to be chief justice; hearings will begin next week. White House official hints the next nominee will not be a white male. Bush: “It is in the interest of the court and the country to have a chief justice on the bench on the first full day of the fall term.” [WP, NYT, WSJ, LAT, WT, USAT]
• Democrats vow increased scrutiny of Roberts but most attention centers around the next nominee. [WP]
• Roberts‘ charisma and convictions thought to foster his effectiveness. Professor: “A committed conservative with interpersonal skills equal to or superior to Rehnquist’s would be a far more effective chief justice than a nominee of equal intellect who lacks those graces.” [WP]
• Roberts is skeptical of judicial intervention at the federal level. [WP]
• Rehnquist will be in repose at Supreme Court until tomorrow. [WP]

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• Bush may tap Roberts to be chief justice; “the situation represents a rare chance to cement a more conservative court and his own legacy at the same time.” [WP, LAT]
• Roberts‘ confirmation hearings likely to be postponed; advocacy groups mobilize. Bartlett on Rehnquist’s successor: “There is a short list, and it’s being worked very hard.” [NYT, WP, NYT, WT]
• Fellow justices surprised by timing of Rehnquist’s death. O’Connor: “I asked him, and he told me he really wanted to go another year and thought he’d be O.K. . . He was wonderful. He had a light touch. He never held a grudge.” [NYT]
• Brownstein: “[W]ith Bush’s sagging poll numbers and the turbulent aftermath of Hurricane Katrina threatening to disrupt much of his legislative agenda, the debates over Roberts and Rehnquist’s successor could offer the president his best chance to energize his core supporters and generate victories on Capitol Hill.” [LAT]
• Bush’s options lead to a conservative court. Historian Robert Dallek: “These crises are such a heavy burden, and they are so self-inflicted, except for the court vacancies, that if he is not very careful and tries to put across someone who is seen as an ultraconservative, he is going to touch off a conflagration in the Senate.” [WP, NYT, USAT]

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