Washington – Criticism of Harriet Miers as an unqualified crony of the president is unfounded, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday, praising the Supreme Court nominee for a “probing intellect” that will make her a great justice.
President Bush this month chose Miers, a longtime confidante who has never been a judge, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Since then, Miers’ nomination has divided conservatives who support the president and those who say it was a risky choice because she is a blank slate on issues such as abortion and gay rights.
Three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hold confirmation hearings next month, criticized what they called vicious attacks by the Republican right. They said Bush had made Miers’ confirmation more difficult by highlighting her conservative religious beliefs, which was seen as an effort to close a growing split among the GOP.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she remained open to voting to confirm Miers, citing in part the conservative criticism.
“The way she’s being beaten up by the far right is very sexist. People should hold their fire and give people an opportunity to come before a hearing,” Feinstein, D-Calif., said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
Rice said she has worked closely with Miers, the White House counsel and a former deputy chief of staff, on international legal issues such as a president’s wartime powers.
“She’s got a very probing mind and a probing intellect,” Rice said on “Fox News Sunday.” “She is the kind of person who is, if there have been four arguments given, Harriet’s going to look for the fifth,” said Rice, who was interviewed from London at the end of a diplomatic trip.
Asked whether she urged Bush to select Miers, Rice said, “I’m not in the habit of recommending Supreme Court justice nominees to the president.”
Sen. Joseph Biden, another Democrat on the panel, called the religious references inappropriate, saying it showed that Bush was desperate.
Feinstein said, “This is a very pivotal appointment. I’m more interested in her judicial philosophy, whether she is going to be able to be independent, whether she will be able to cut the umbilical tie to the president and call things as she sees them.”
