of doctoring photographs to make her makeup look bad during the 2000 recount.

The White House claims that John Roberts tenure as Deputy Solicitor General is irrelevant. They argue his work during that time has no bearing on his personal views. Former Senator Fred Thompson — who the President has put in charge of marshalling Roberts through Congress — had this to say about his role in the Solicitor General’s office:

[H]e was a litigant. I think it’s enough said about that. He was representing a client, the client’s position.

That’s not how Roberts described the job on his resume. Instead, Roberts emphasized how he had final say on the administration’s position in hundreds of cases. Newsday provides excerpts from Roberts’ resume:

I have served as Acting Solicitor General in some 90 cases before the Supreme Court, including 15 argued on the merits – three by me personally…I had final responsibility for determining whether the United States would seek further review of adverse decisions in some 380 cases.

In other words, according to Roberts, he wasn’t just implementing policy. He was making policy. Thus, documents related to his work as Deputy Solicitor General are critical to understanding his legal philosophy.

Yesterday, the Bush administration announced that the Treasury would bring back the 30 year bond. This is great news for investors: 30-year bonds are safe long term way to store savings. Unfortunately for the government, though, these bonds signal an acceptance of significant budget deficits over the medium and long term.

And while the administration applies for a new credit card, Congress has approved another bloated transportation bill full of pork barrel projects. As we, and Alan Greenspan, have pointed out before, the budgetary path this administration has led us down is dangerous. President Bush’s policies have ensured we will be spending plenty of tax dollars on interest payments for many years to come.

Deep in a Times piece published yesterday, we learn that Federalist Society president Eugene Meyer has hired a PR firm “to train [society] members and place them on television shows during the confirmation process.” Of course, in another example of the Federalist Society and the White House trying to conceal their relationship, Meyer won’t admit that his group is backing Roberts — no, he says he hired the group merely to help “educate the public on the role of judges and courts.”

“Given the general philosophical outlook, the chances are very good that they’ll support the nominee,” Meyer said. “But [supporting Roberts is] not the purpose.”

And which group did Meyer hire to help with this noble campaign to enlighten the public? Try Creative Response Concepts, the same firm that represented the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

for Judith Miller after all, following a unanimous vote by the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

that American intelligence officials don’t?

Bush promised to fire anyone involved in the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity. After we learned Karl Rove leaker Plame’s identity to Matt Cooper and was one of Robert Novak’s two sources, Bush said “Karl has got my complete confidence.”

The lesson: if you are a friend of George W. Bush you can do no wrong.

Case in point. Rafael Palmeiro tested positive for steroids and was suspended by Major League Baseball. Here is what the President had to say:

Well, Rafael Palmeiro is a friend…He’s the kind of person that’s going to stand up in front of the klieg lights and say he didn’t use steroids, and I believe him. Still do.

At this point, even if Karl Rove is indicted, I wouldn’t count on Bush firing him.