LAT: Aides Describe How President Arrived at His Choice

[DeepModem Mom]

Aides Describe How President Arrived at His Choice
By Edwin Chen, Times Staff Writer


....White House aides began assembling a list of potential court nominees shortly after Bush took office in 2001....But the process kicked into high gear only after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation July 1. By the time Bush left for a trip to Denmark and Scotland four days later, his staff had winnowed the list to 11. During the transatlantic flight, and during the ensuing four-day stay in Europe, the president spent time reviewing the files.

Two senior White House officials, counselor Dan Bartlett and Press Secretary Scott McClellan, described what Bush called "a thorough and deliberative process" to reporters shortly before the president made the announcement at 6 p.m. PDT. Their description offered a rare peak into the president's decision-making process — and his first nomination to the Supreme Court.

In all, Bush interviewed five candidates, although the aides said there were others on the president's short list, but he felt that he knew them well enough that no personal interview was necessary....

***

Bush and Roberts have met before, but the job interview Friday was their first sustained encounter, Bartlett said. The hourlong interview, which included a discussion of their personal lives, took place in the sitting area of the White House residence, with the president's two dogs at their feet....

****

The president reached his decision Monday night, although a few last-minute questions had to be resolved, and were by Tuesday morning, according to Bartlett and McClellan....Bartlett denied at length a suggestion that Bush expedited an appointment to the court to detract from the controversy surrounding deputy chief of staff Karl Rove and the identification of a covert CIA operative. Bartlett said that the process was driven in part by the fact that the Senate is scheduled to recess next Friday — and the White House wanted the Judiciary Committee and the full chamber to officially receive the nomination well before then....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tictoc20jul20,0,3218536.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[mbperrin]

1. UUUhhhhhhhh, who do YOU like, Dick!?

There's the process!

[Carolab]

6. LOL. I thought it might have been a dartboard. n/t

[merwin]

16. I was thinking Eeny Meeny Miney Mo

[dArKeR]

15. What else could a D- college student do?

[spotbird]

2. Whatever.

he needed to distract the media so he made his choice. A young wing nut who can continue to destroy the nation for 40 years.

[RagAss]

3. The Process

Rove put the names of 10 Wingnuts in a hat and Cheney picked one out....there's your freakin process...

[Robert Oak]

14. maybe the process

who's the biggest multinational corporate lawyer in the country who will blow apart 100 years of law that protects workers and citizens plus finally get rid of that frigging New Deal and make sure it can never be reinstated?

Roberts? ok! oops, I gotta overturn Roe v. Wade too ok, great! we're done.

[Kool Kitty]

5. Exactly.

Spot on, spotbird. A young wingnut that will be talked about endlessly on all the shows until the actual confirmation process begins, and thus will change the subject from that scummy ball of blubber, Rove. Scotty must be SOOOO relieved tonight.

[radfringe]

19. "a thorough and deliberative process" .. to decide on which coin to use

[shraby]

4. I just don't buy the bit about * interviewing him in

any intelligible way.

[Sandpiper]

7. He had the following Checklist:

1) Male? check!

2) Caucasian? check!

3) Pro-corporation? check!

4) Anti-choice? check!

5) Anti-environment? check!

6) Anti-voting rights? check!


After that, Roberts was the clear choice.

[Cocoa]

8. fascinating insight into Bush's process

I wonder if he had his glasses on, like when he wrote the State of the Union.

[IChing]

9. I'm suppose to believe his aids and the dogs at his feet shit?

He didn't make the decision he was told the decision

[AlGore-08.com]

10. Process is "Oh, I remember that dude. He worked for my dad!"

End of "process".

[punpirate]

11. The language in this is so... so...

... fuckin' fawning, I can't stand it.

Where did this reporter last work? The home and garden section is my guess.

Ugh.

[bemildred]

17. Lickspittle toadies have plenty of work at the LAT. nt

[msongs]

12. stealth con-didate with short track record - the fix is in here n/t

[Straight Shooter]

13. An hour long interview? You have got to be effin' kidding me!

I've had job interviews that went on longer than that with the head honcho. This was more like bush saying: "Hey, you want to wreck America and all it stands for and be a real powerful guy?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Okay, you're the one."

"Thanks, George. What do you want to talk about for the rest of the hour?"

"Pussy."

:banghead:

[donheld]

18. Anyone who thinks

* picked this person without major help from Unka Dick is kidding themselves.

[Gman]

20. I don't believe for a second that Bush made the choice

he was told, "You will nominate this guy, you idiot."

[truthisfreedom]

21. *yawn* who cares? who cares if they actually planned or thought anything

at all?

they suck. period. end of story. f*ck them all.

[Solly Mack]

22. Why do they pretend Bush has a thought process?

Without fail, it's always "Bush takes a dump - "Here's why"
"Bush had coffee with cream - "Here's how he did it"

Every single fart he lets, his "aides" feel the need to explain the "how's and why's" , as if they need explaining - as if Bush actually had a thought....because if Bush did think, he could explain it himself....and he never ever does.

But the things Bush needs to answer for, his aides, much like their master, have "no comment"

[DeepModem Mom]

24. Good point, Solly -- What other "President" has had to be explained...

so often? You're right: Bush can't explain himself, and/or, there's not much to explain.

[Peace Patriot]

23. How to read the news monopoly press...

Starting with the title:

"Aides Describe How President Arrived at His Choice"

Toadying yes-men and lapdogs ("Aides...") feverishly issue pages of ink on a non-story in order to push treason charges out of the headlines ("...Describe...") how the mean, stupid little fascist tyrant whose buds own the election system ("...How President...") was told by the rightwing nuts who feed him with delusions of Armageddon and Sainthood ("...Arrived at...") a means of taking HER choice away and enslaving her to your prick ("...His Choice...") who will not only help Christianize the government but will also help the Bush Cartel finish looting whatever there is to loot in the U.S. of A. and create a population of cannon fodder and indentured slaves for the Corporate Rulers.

Need I go on? Can't even get past the article titles these days. Every word a lie. Every word!

[DeepModem Mom]

25. Sorry -- kicking because this thread was providing some comic relief --