"New" tactic: an "Oval Office pageant of praise" for "Harriet Miers 2.0"

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9711531/site/newsweek/page/2/

Hoping to prevent just such a meltdown, Bush's aides have been relying from the beginning on Dr. James Dobson, the evangelical counselor whose "Focus on the Family" broadcasts—and mailing lists—are a powerful grass-roots force. But the effort has created as many problems as it solved. When Miers was unveiled, Dobson issued a rather wary declaration of support, saying that he had been reassured about her by information he had received privately from a top White House aide. That person, he later confirmed, was Rove—which in turn led Democrats and even some Republicans (notably Sen. Arlen Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee) to insist that Dobson make public the soothing words he had heard. He did so last week. Miers, Dobson said Rove had told him, was "an evangelical Christian ... from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life." When Bush used the same news cycle to defend the attention to Miers's faith, the storm only intensified. And Dobson himself remains cautious. "I have been somewhat tentative," he said in a statement to NEWSWEEK, "because so much is at stake."

The Bush White House would agree, but view the nature of the stakes differently: they can't afford to see their already beleaguered boss, his job-approval numbers dragging on the pavement, humiliated by his own party. So they are releasing Harriet 2.0, focusing on an inch-by-inch ground game. The president has conservative allies of his own, chief among them a Jedi of Beltway combat, Newt Gingrich. New talking points were issued to them late last week, focusing on Miers's rather thin list of qualifications—bar-association presidencies, corporate legal work and a term as a member of the Dallas City Council. The talking points were notable for their absence of even a passing reference to her religion. The switch was a rare, but necessary, admission of a strategic screw-up. "We got distracted by discussions about her faith and church attendance that really have no bearing on her qualifications for the court," said a Bush aide close to the confirmation process, insisting on anonymity so he could speak freely. "That's what we've got to get back to."

The idea—the hope—is to generate some positive buzz with testimonials. Strategists have lined up endorsements and op-eds to be doled out day by day, one of them an Oval Office pageant of praise featuring former members of the Texas Supreme Court. Miers will work her way through a series of office visits with senators, with a fairly heavy emphasis on Republicans who have kept their distance so far.

Aides make the glass-half-full observation that no Republican senator has committed to opposing her. But a single GOP defection on the Judiciary Committee—say, Brownback—would probably doom the nomination. As for the Democrats, their strategy is to sit back and watch the GOP squirm. Marshall Wittmann of the Democratic Leadership Council says: "Get your popcorn, turn on C-Span, and enjoy."

[IndyOp]

1. I am grateful that their energies are being invested in the people's work

:puke: