Jewish World Review Oct. 7, 2005 / 4 Tishrei, 5766

Dubya the gambler will enjoy the last laugh

By Tony Snow

http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The Harriet Miers nomination has set off one of the most delightful psychodramas in recent Washington history. President Bush, the habitual iconoclast, shattered prevailing traditions and expectations by asking his former personal attorney and now-White House counsel to assume a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Elites hate the nomination. Miers, in contrast to the polymath John Roberts, has little direct experience with constitutional law, and may know less about cases and precedents than such potential inquisitors as Sens. Joe Biden and Chuck Schumer. She hasn't spent time on the federal bench. She hasn't written sage articles for prestigious law reviews. She has little conventional pedigree — and that drives the local elites nuts.

Conservative activists also count themselves unamused. Sen. George Allen told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that of the 100 phone calls his office got on the Meirs pick before noon last Monday, only three supported the president's pick.

Many conservatives wanted the president to duke it out with Senate Democrats by selecting a known and documented constitutional originalist — Judges Michael Luttig, Michael McConnell, Edith Jones and Janice Rogers Brown topped many wish lists. The president, the thinking went, not only could have established himself as the King of Capitol Hill, he also could have killed the recent Democratic tactic of slurring and smearing conservative judicial picks.

When critics yelped, White House aides panicked. For some reason, they failed to anticipate the conservative blowback, and when negative reviews began pouring in, presidential aides issued snarky retorts. (One pro-Miers website dismissed all the nominee's detractors as "naval gazers.")

The nomination reflects George Bush's most interesting and unique tendencies. On the negative side, he has a habit of singing from the Political Correctness hymnal. In the run-up to the Miers nomination, he paid obeisance to the ideal of "diversity," which seems more appropriate for Ward Churchill than from an ideological heir to Ronald Reagan.

In addition, the president hates to fire back at political foes. As governor of Texas, he crafted an alliance with Democratic stalwart Bob Bullock, creating an era of good feelings in Austin.

George Bush's desire to court the opposition explains his refusal to veto a single measure as president, including the execrable campaign-finance reform law. It also accounts for his meek surrender when Democrats killed most of his faith-based initiatives, watered down his attempts to overhaul public education, and slapped back his quest to reform an unforgivably dishonest and shaky Social Security system.

On the positive side of the ledger, the Miers nomination highlights George Bush's delicious disdain for the Beltway culture. One can imagine his chortling with delight upon finding a way to irritate worthies of both parties.

The president also stressed an unorthodox but admirable criterion for selecting judges and other officials granted positions of high trust and authority: He talked about Harriet Miers' character.

He's right. The Supreme Court possesses unparalleled power for seducing those who don the black robes. No other officials in America can issue irreversible decrees. What the Supremes say, goes.

Harriet Miers, the president suggested, won't get her head turned by such blandishments because she has principles. She'll remain true to conservative precepts and won't "grow" in office, regardless of what The New York Times says about her.

No wonder the Miers nomination baffles seasoned political pros. Miers is a cipher. People who purport to be good friends have a startling tendency to recite Republican talking points. I have yet to find one who can say, "I'll never forget the time Harriet (fill in a charming reminiscence here)." It is as if the woman had walked through life without performing a memorable act — other than to crank out a dandy sweet-potato pie. But associates also caution against misunderestimating the woman. She apparently has made mincemeat of more than her share of doomsayers and detractors.

So now things get interesting. The president has stirred up a lot of mischief, but Miers has to clean up the mess. The upcoming confirmation hearings will determine her fate — and the president's. If she defies expectations, George Bush will look like a genius. If the Senate rejects her nomination, his presidency will come effectively to an end.

That's just the sort of thing the poker-playing president loves. George Bush possesses a gambler's daring and patience. He loves to linger over a controversy until his adversaries fidget and sweat. His pleas to "trust me" have the effect of dragging out the drama — and imparting the sense that when the Senate finally casts its votes, the guy from Midland again will enjoy the last laugh.