HARRIET MIERS WITHDRAWAL, THE POLITICS BEHIND IT; PHIL ANGELIDES; THE HARRIET MIERS WITHDRAWAL: WHAT NOW? WHO NOW?; THE KNOW-IT-ALL
HARRIET MIERS WITHDRAWAL, THE POLITICS BEHIND IT
Bowing to constant attack from conservatives, President Bush abandoned his push to put Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court. Democrats accused him of bowing to the ``radical right.” The White House said Miers had withdrawn because of senators' demands to see internal documents related to her role as counsel to the president. But, clearly, Bush's conservative backers had doubts about her ideological purity and Democrats had little incentive to help the nominee or the President.
PHIL ANGELIDES
At a recent fundraiser, California’s State Treasurer referred to his gubernatorial campaign as the “revenge of the nerds.” But there’s nothing lightweight about Phil Angelides’ political career. This Harvard graduate and successful businessman has been active in civic life for more than 30 years and has served as chairman of the California Democratic Party and co-chair of the Sacramento Mayor’s Commission on Education and the City’s Future. Larry talks to the Treasurer about the state of the State finances.
THE HARRIET MIERS WITHDRAWAL: WHAT NOW? WHO NOW?
With the Miers nomination withdrawn, President Bush will have to find a replacement. Will he pick a staunch conservative to placate the right wing of the Republican Party, or will he switch to a more moderate pick who can appeal to Democrats on the Judiciary Committee? Larry talks with Charles Doskow, a law professor at the University of LaVerne College, and Eugene Volokh, professor and constitution law expert from the UCLA School of Law.
THE KNOW-IT-ALL
Writer A.J. Jacobs set himself the daunting task of reading all thirty-two volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Larry talks to Jacobs about his search for knowledge and his book chronicling his journey, The Know-It-All, One Man’s Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World (Simon and Schuster).