Liz Bumiller—or whichever PR handler the White House assigned to water and mulch her this week—decided that it was time to look at the coming Supreme Court nomination battle from the woman's perspective. And by woman's, I mean lady's, since even though we're talking about the possibility of a woman replacing a woman justice, we're so in the fifties here. The burning issue that leads today's "White House Letter": what does Laura Bush know, and how does she know it?

When Laura Bush said in a television interview last week that she hoped her husband would name a woman to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, a lot of people saw it as a top item on the first lady's "honey-do" list. But Republicans close to the White House said that people had it reversed. Mrs. Bush, they said, was not so much nudging her husband as reflecting his thinking.

(Excuse me, but: "honey-do" list? Yeecch. Did Bumiller fall asleep last night on a stack of old McCall's or something?) The gender politics are head-spinning! Is Laura lobbying Dear Hubby, or is she leaking His most intimate cogitations? A nation waits with bated breath ...

For Lizzy Boo to split the difference.

"It says that they're looking very carefully at a woman," said a Republican with longtime ties to the White House. "I don't think she would have said it without knowing something." ...

This is not to say, the Republicans cautioned, that Mrs. Bush has no opinion. On the contrary, they said that she was probably the most influential voice pushing Mr. Bush—who has named women to top positions in his administration—in a direction he may have already chosen.

A strong influence on Dubya to do what he's already decided to do anyway. It's tough when you've got to go in two opposite propaganda directions at once, but that's Lizzy Boo for ya: she makes it look easy.

But what really sets this piece apart, for the conoisseur, is how thoroughly it illustrates the typical boldness and fluidity of the Bumillerian style. Let's take a look at the beating intellectual heart of the piece, with these excerpts from the beginning of each of its central nine grafs (more than half the article's extent), in order. Follow the bouncing leitmotif:

Republicans say there are three strong reasons to name a woman to replace Justice O'Connor.
First, they believe ...
Second, they believe ...
Third, and not least, Republicans say ...
Republicans add that a woman ...
Republicans close to the White House say ...[To be fair, this is from the second sentence of its paragraph. Lizzy throwin' in some flash, just to see if you're paying attention.]
"She may have been doing it to make the point ..." said the Republican with White House ties. ...
At this point, Republicans said ...

That, my friends, is some brave stenography.

Good thing we already live in a one-party state, huh? Imagine if there were an opposition, and Our Liz were to break a nail or something having to do (oh the humanity!) actual reporting.

posted by michael  7:24:51 PM  
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