Reid pleased with latest nominee

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2005 | 8 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- About 7 a.m. Monday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid took a call from Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. The ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee had good news: Harriet Miers was President Bush's next Supreme Court nominee.

In short, Reid got a nominee he wanted.

By midafternoon, Reid would emerge from a meeting with Miers, the White House counsel, smiling and praising her.

Was this a clear win for Reid -- some liberal groups are raising their eyebrows over his comments -- or could Miers become an example of "be careful what you wish for?"

"We don't know," said former UNLV law professor Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond professor who closely monitors judicial nominations. "One of the most striking things about the nomination is just how little is known about where she stands on a lot of these issues -- and what kind of a judge she would be."

At a White House breakfast meeting Sept. 21, Reid told Bush that Miers and an undisclosed number of others -- a "handful," one aide said -- could be acceptable to Democrats.

That short list had been vetted by Democratic staffers on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Reid spokesman Jim Manley said. Perhaps more importantly, Reid had been personally impressed by Miers in her role as the White House's point-person on judicial nominees.

Reid had not consulted at length with aides before pitching her name to Bush, Manley said.

"It was his gut," Manley said. "It was his idea."

Reid on Monday said Miers was "very personable" and "genuine" and noted that she returned his phone calls immediately. He said her non-Ivy League background and lack of experience as a judge could be assets on the high court. The fact that Miers gave $1,000 to Democrat Al Gore in 1988 "makes me feel even better about her," Reid told reporters, prompting chuckles.

The fact that Reid emerged from his Capitol office after a 25-minute afternoon meeting with Miers, and strode out with her to meet a crush of more than 60 journalists, appeared symbolic. Reid held only a no-questions photo-op before his meeting with Roberts.

Miers didn't speak, and at certain moments wore a somewhat pained smile (as when Reid lauded the Gore donation). But Reid was as relaxed and jovial as he ever is with swarming media.

"Harriet Miers has served with distinction as a trial lawyer," Reid said. "That's what I am, a trial lawyer. So anyone with that background makes me feel good."

Democratic Senate staffers were spinning the Miers nomination as a sign of a weakened Bush as much as a Reid victory.

Democrats even momentarily set aside recent charges of cronyism in the Bush administration. The fact that Miers is part of Bush's inner circle doesn't mean she isn't qualified for the job, Manley said.

In their three or four conversations in recent weeks, Reid had never spoken to Miers directly about her being the nominee, aides said. Perhaps wary of how liberal activists might interpret his praise for Miers, Reid on Monday was careful to put a little space between himself and Miers.

When asked why he had "gone to bat" for a Republican nominee, Reid said, "I don't know if this is going to bat." And Reid said that a reporter's characterization of Reid having "recommended" Miers as "maybe exaggerating a little."

Manley stressed later that the Judiciary Committee would more closely investigate Miers.

"He's (Reid) preserving all our options," Manley said. "All he did was urge the president to look at her as a potential nominee."

Liberal activists and senators urged caution.

"We know even less about Harriet Miers than we did about John Roberts," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a member of the Judiciary Committee who voted against Roberts.

Elliot Mincberg, legal director for the liberal group People for the American Way, declined to say if it was troubling that Reid had offered early praise for Miers.

"I think that's a call for Sen. Reid to make," Mincberg said, noting that Reid had not said he would vote for her. "I think the most important thing is that Sen. Reid has stressed that the (nomination) process work itself out."

Still, for Reid, it looked like a victory. What a difference a weekend makes. On Thursday, a nominee that Reid had glumly opposed was sworn in as chief justice. On Monday, Reid was handed a nominee he, and likely his party, could accept.

At least for the moment.

Benjamin Grove is the Sun's Washington bureau chief. He can be reached at (202) 662-7436 or by e-mail at grove@lasvegassun.com.