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Dark horse

President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to Supreme court move to trick Democrats

Trust me, he says.

"I have proof of weapons of mass destruction. Trust me."

"We'll only look through your library records if you're a national threat. Trust me."

"I get a lot of work done, I really do, (despite taking the most vacations days of any other president during a time of war). Trust me."

"This buddy of mine, Michael Brown, you know the leader of the International Arabian Horse Association, he'd make a great director for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Trust me."

"And Harriet E. Miers? Oh yeah, she's a fine candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court. Why? Don't worry. Just trust me."

Ol' Dubya is at it again.

The State News editorial board would like to offer its opinion on the merits of President Bush's Supreme Court nominee Harriet E. Miers, but little is known about her.

And as expected, we're not going to put our complete trust in the president. Obviously, that hasn't worked out very well in the past.

Here's what we do know:

  • She has never served as a federal judge. But then again, neither did Sandra Day O'Connor, the woman she could potentially replace on the bench.

  • She once served a two-year term on the Dallas City Council. We knew Vic Loomis got robbed!

  • The media has labeled Miers a Bush loyalist. They have a long history together. As governor, he appointed her to the Texas Lottery Commission. When he took over as commander in chief, she became a staff secretary and, later, White House counsel. They also both have brothers named Jeb.

  • According to a 1989 questionnaire from the Lesbian/Gay Political Coalition of Dallas, Miers indicated that she believed that "gay men and lesbians should have the same civil rights as non-gay men and women." But she also indicated that she didn't support a repeal of a section of the Texas Penal Code that "criminalizes the private sexual behavior of consenting adult lesbians and gay men."

  • She's a woman, which helps to create a more diverse bench, but her sex or ethnicity don't matter much compared to her interpretation of the Constitution.

    And that's about it. She doesn't have much of a public record on pressing national issues such as abortion or the death penalty.

    The U.S. Senate has a important task. They must discover Miers' stance on issues and prove she is qualified to don the long black robe. Miers is 60 years old, and could serve a lengthy stint on the bench if selected. Political analysts have speculated that the president appointed her because of her ambiguous background. There is no partisan record for Democrats to sink their claws into.

    After being criticized for the war in Iraq, and more recently, the slow federal response to victims of Hurricane Katrina, Bush might not have the energy or political capital to stage a battle with liberals.

    Is Harriet E. Miers a good choice for the Supreme Court? Trust us, no one has a clue.

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