White House Presses Case On Miers
Six Former Texas Supreme Court Jurists Join Bush In Support Of Miers
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Play CBS Video Video Miers Unclear On Abortion A controversy is growing over reports that private assurances have been given to conservatives that Miers will attempt to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Gloria Borger reports.
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Video Bush Comments On Miers CBS News RAW: President Bush met with a group of six former Texas Supreme Court members and thanked them for endorsing Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers.
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Video Administration Promotes Miers Web Exclusive: Susan Roberts reports that President Bush has invited two former Texas Supreme Court judges to the White House to show their support for his Supreme Court nominee.
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Harriet Miers with President Bush, after he announced her nomination for the U.S. Supreme Court, Oct. 3, 2005. (AP)
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Harriet Miers presides over a meeting of the Texas Lottery Commission in this photo from Jan. 7, 1997, in Austin, Texas. (AP)
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Interactive Harriet Miers With Miers out of the running, what's next in President Bush's search to fill a vacancy on the nation's highest court?
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Interactive The Supreme Court History, traditions and key cases, plus what it takes to get on the bench.
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Interactive Bush Presidency The president's agenda, plus facts, figures, major events and key personalities.
CBS News correspondent Susan Roberts reports the administration is primarily fending off critics inside the Republican Party who say the Texas native with a career as a lawyer and legal adviser is a risky pick because she lacks the experience of a proven conservative judge.
Trying to calm conservative furor last week, the White House stirred up more controversy by highlighting Miers' religious beliefs.
"Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion," President Bush said last Wednesday.
Some Democrats said the president's comments did not help his nominee.
"What the president has done is set up a standard for Miss Miers which is going to make it very difficult for her at the hearing," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
On Sunday, Feinstein criticized what she called attacks on Miers from the Republican right and said she is interested in learning about Miers' judicial philosophy.
Feinstein told CNN her questioning during the hearings will focus on whether Miers can rule independently and show a "breadth of knowledge" on various issues.
Other Democratic committee members also said they want to know more about Miers' views on issues likely to come before the court.
"We all have a right to know where she stands on these basic issues," Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., told CBS' Face the Nation. "And I hope this puts to bed this notion that it's not a legitimate thing for the United States Congress to find out where a nominee stands on the fundamental constitutional questions facing her."
Meanwhile, a leading Republican, Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, dismissed as "nonsense" suggestions that sexism and elitism were behind the opposition to Miers.
"The fact is this is an elite group of individuals. The fact is we want an elite group of individuals," Hagel told CBS.
"I'm not so sure I want my next-door neighbor, as much as I like him or her, to be on the Supreme Court because they're nice people."
©MMV, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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