Is Her Real Name Sybil?

Before the morning was over I heard two different stories about this woman on the question of abortion. First, she got Arlen Spector all confused and he somehow misunderstood her and thought she said that she agreed with the Griswold decision.

As the White House renewed its attempts to rally backing for Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, her views -- or non-views -- on a key privacy case appeared to ignite more controversy.

Miers spent much of Monday on Capitol Hill visiting with senators, among them Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter.

After their meeting, Specter told reporters that Miers said she believed the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut -- a landmark ruling establishing the right to privacy -- was 'rightly decided.'

But when the White House took exception to Specter's comments, the Pennsylvania Republican released a statement saying Miers later called him to tell him he had 'misunderstood' her answer.

Specter said Miers, in the later phone call, told him she had not taken a position on either Griswold or the right to privacy, the legal underpinning for the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.

Specter's statement did not withdraw his comments about Miers discussing Griswold with him, nor did it offer a correction. But the statement said the chairman accepted Miers' contention 'that he misunderstood what she said.'

Now it seems there is a bit of paper which shows that, at least in 1989, she pledged to support an constitutional amendment that would prohibit all abortions except those where the mother's life was in danger.

Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers pledged support in 1989 for a constitutional amendment banning abortions except when necessary to save the life of the mother, according to material given to the Senate on Tuesday.

As a candidate for the Dallas city council, Miers also signaled support for the overall agenda of Texans United for Life agreeing she would support legislation restricting abortions if the Supreme Court ruled that states could ban abortions and would participate in "pro-life rallies and special events."

Miers made her views known in a candidate questionnaire the White House submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hold hearings on her Supreme Court nomination next month. The one-page questionnaire was filled out, but unsigned, although the Bush administration affirmed its authenticity.

This is getting really stupid! I definitely don't think that Arlen Spector "misunderstood" this woman! At the same time, if she is a known supporter of the pro-life movement, why is Bush pretending he doesn't know her views. I'm not sure she knows her own views from day to day. I was fine with waiting until the hearings to see what she had to say for herself because the conservatives are doing a pretty good job of ripping her apart all by themselves. But this is starting to look like a circus and it is making a mockery out of the nomination and out of the prestige of the position as a Supreme Court Justice. She needs to withdraw her name!