Laura Bush Fails to Rebut Miers-critics-might-be-sexist-canard

The President and Laura Bush discussed Miers during an appearance on NBC's Today show earlier today. Asked by host Matt Lauer if sexism might be playing a role in the Miers controversy, she said, "It's possible. I think that's possible. . . . I think people are not looking at her accomplishments." Mrs. Bush then went on to state how much Miers has overcome in her life.

Some Bloggers with access to the transcript of the show have cast Laura Bush's comments as just an errant response to a journalist's well-laid trap, arguing that with the statement "that's possible," Bush was brushing off the journalist's question while trying to get her talking points across. It's valuable to look at the statement in context, and it certainly diminishes the harshness.

However, if Lauer had asked, "Do you think Bill Bennett is aborting black babies in his basement," and Laura B. had responded "It's possible, but what I really want you to know is . . ."-- what would that say? The correct response should be to say "Absolutely not." Are Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, and several other women commentators strongly opposed to Miers "sexist" as well? And how does one explain that Judge Janice Rogers Brown and other conservative women judges are many conservatives' dream picks?

By failing to flatly reject the proposterous sexist theory first floated by Ed Gillespie, Mrs. Bush became complicit in the tactics of the left-- i.e., playing the sexist card. She is either a willing bystander or a dupe of the liberal press.

If overcoming obstacles was a key aspect of the decisionmaking process, as Mrs. Bush seems to say, then Judge Janice Rogers Brown was the obvious choice. Besides being a far more qualified choice, she had to overcome racism as well as sexism.

The Miers situation is not getting better with age.