Bush Reiterates Support for High Court Nominee Miers

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Michele Norris.

For the first time since May, President Bush held a formal news conference today, and in it he defended his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. One of the president's top aides, Miers has disappointed some conservatives who say there were stronger candidates available. We'll hear more about her in a few minutes. At his press conference, the president also discussed the state of the Iraqi army and the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, and he insisted that he still has plenty of political capital in the bank. Here's NPR's Don Gonyea.

DON GONYEA reporting:

Standing in the Rose Garden this morning, the president seemed to be speaking directly to critics of his choice of Harriet Miers. He was asked if of all the people in the United States he had to choose from, his friend and White House counsel was the most qualified to serve on the court. The president said she was.

President GEORGE W. BUSH: I just answered. I picked the best person I could find. People know we're close. But you've got to understand because of our closeness, I know the character of the person.

GONYEA: The president has known Miers since the 1980s, but the closeness of their relationship prompted another question: Has he ever in all that time talked to her about the issue of abortion? The president didn't respond directly, saying he doesn't have a litmus test for judicial nominees. The reporter followed up.

Unidentified Reporter: But she is not someone you interviewed for the job that you didn't know. You've known her a long time. Have you never discussed abortion with her?

Pres. BUSH: In my interviews with any judge, I never ask their personal opinion on the subject of abortion.

Unidentified Reporter: In your friendship with her, you've never discussed...

Pres. BUSH: Not to my recollection have I ever sat down with her. What I have done is understand the type of person she is and the type of judge she will be.

GONYEA: But while the president says he doesn't know where Miers stands on abortion, he says that he does know what kind of judge she'll be and that she won't change even after 20 years on the bench. Of course, the big concern among conservatives is that she'll be like another justice, David Souter, who was nominated by the first President Bush and who often votes with liberals on the court. Today the president was asked if the appointment of Souter was a mistake.

Pres. BUSH: You're trying to get me in trouble with my father, Baker.

BAKER: Well, I'm trying to understand what informed your choice is this time.

Pres. BUSH: Well, call him. Go ahead. Sorry to interrupt you.

BAKER: Well, the second part of my question is: If there's no litmus test, regardless of who serves on the Supreme Court, would you like to see the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade?

Pres. BUSH: You know, I'm not going to interject that kind of issue in the midst of these hearings. Harriet Miers will stand on her own.

GONYEA: On other topics, the president was asked about the Gulf Coast hurricanes and the cost of the recovery effort. He said budget cuts must be found to help pay for it, though he offered no specific cuts today.

Pres. BUSH: We got to deal with Katrina in a fiscally sound way. And I repeat what I said before: The engine of growth in these areas that have been destroyed is going to be the private sector, and, therefore, Congress ought to get a bill to my desk that I can sign that encourages investment.

GONYEA: There was just one question on Iraq. The president said 80 Iraqi battalions could now fight alongside US troops. But he did not contradict US generals, who say that just one Iraqi battalion is now prepared to stand and fight on its own.

Mr. Bush refused to answer questions about a criminal investigation into the leaking by the White House of the name of a CIA agent. Since his last news conference four months ago, it's been learned that top aides Karl Rove and Lewis Libby talked to reporters about the identity of Valerie Plame in 2003. Nor were there any questions about the clouds over two key Republicans in Congress. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been indicted in Texas for money laundering. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being investigated for a controversial stock sale. The president said he still hoped to renew his drive for changes in Social Security but acknowledged there seemed to be, quote, "a diminished appetite for that issue this fall." Don Gonyea, NPR News, Washington.

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