San Diego Union Tribune: Some friends

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UNION-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL

Some friends

Miers' supporters depict her as Bush lap dog

October 11, 2005

Since President Bush announced his decision last week to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, the intense reaction has been revealing about many things – most notably the extent of conservatives' disappointment with this administration – but not that revealing about Miers.

That's why we so look forward to her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings, where we hope she fully addresses the specter of cronyism in her selection. In our view, the biggest concern this poses is not the question of her credentials to be justice – the angle that obsesses the pundit class – but her ability to be independent of her political patron.

The debate over Miers' qualifications – successful corporate lawyer; former Dallas councilwoman; head of the Texas Lottery Commission, etc. – is important. But whether the president has chosen a friend over more qualified nominees isn't as crucial as whether a justice beholden to the president would be able to hear cases involving his administration with unclouded judgment.

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Consider what Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said last week in a rally-the-troops speech to conservatives: "In Texas, we have two important values: courage and loyalty. If Harriet Miers didn't rule the way George W. Bush thought she would, he would see that as an act of betrayal and so would she," The Wall Street Journal reported. But if that's really why the president nominated Miers – because she's an archloyal lap dog – it's an act of betrayal of all Americans.

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