Demagogue

As a follow-up to my post on Tuesday, now President Bush himself is citing Harriet Miers' religious views as a reason why he nominated her. From the Associated Press:

President Bush said Wednesday that Harriet Miers’ religious beliefs figured into her nomination to the Supreme Court as a top-ranking Democrat warned against any “wink and a nod” campaign for confirmation.

“People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers,” Bush told reporters at the White House. “They want to know Harriet Miers’ background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions. And part of Harriet Miers’ life is her religion.”

... (Bush) said that his advisers were reaching out to conservatives who oppose her nomination “just to explain the facts.” He spoke on a day in which conservative James Dobson, founder of Focus on Family, said he had discussed [Miers'] religious views with presidential aide Karl Rove.

... Dobson said Rove told him “she is from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro-life" ...