President Bush has said he considers Harriet Miers the most qualified person to fill the SCOTUS seat of Sandra Day O'Connor. But an interesting L.A. Times piece (also posted on Drudge) indicates that perhaps Bush was inflating the White House's actual views of Miss Miers' qualifications.
Reporting on a Rove-Dobson conversation, Maura Reynolds wrote:
. . . Rove also told Dobson that one reason the president was passing over better-known conservatives was that many on the White House short list had asked not to be considered, Dobson said, according to an advance transcript of the broadcast provided by his organization, Focus on the Family.
Dobson said that the White House had decided to nominate a woman, which reduced the size of the list, and that several women on it had then bowed out.
So, if other "better-known conservatives" were "passed-over," what does that tell us about Miers? She wasn't at the top of the list and, therefore, was not considered by the Bush Administration to be the "most qualified" person for the job.
Many conservatives are questioning whether the line Rove fed Dobson about other people declining the SCOTUS nod is even true.
Either this Rove-to-Dobson claim is legit and the President is, therefore, inaccurate when he says the White House saw Miers as the most qualified.
Or Rove made up some story to give Dobson to try to help with the large portion of the conservative base that is up in arms right now.
