    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [October 8, 2005]
    [Pages 1535-1536]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    October 8, 2005

        Good morning. This week I nominated an exceptional individual to
    replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court of the United States. Harriet
    Miers is a remarkable woman and an
    accomplished attorney. She has wide experience in the courtroom and at
    the highest levels of government, and she will be an outstanding
    addition to our Nation's highest Court.
        Harriet Miers was born and raised in
    Dallas, Texas, where she attended the public schools. When illness
    struck her family, Harriet went to work to help pay for her own college
    education. She stayed close to home in Dallas to attend Southern
    Methodist University and received a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
        She remained at SMU for law school and
    earned a place on the law review. After graduation, she was hired for a
    prestigious 2-year clerkship for a Federal trial judge. From there, she
    went on to an extraordinary career in private practice and public
    service and became a pioneer for women lawyers. She was the first woman
    to be hired at her law firm, the first woman to become president of that
    firm, the first woman to lead a large law firm in the State of Texas,
    the first woman head of the Dallas Bar Association, and the first woman
    elected as president of the State Bar of Texas.
        In her law practice, Ms. Miers handled
    hundreds of cases in State and Federal courts, from massive commercial
    litigation to criminal cases to civil disputes. She served in local
    government on the Dallas City Council and later held office in State
    government as well.
        As Ms. Miers rose through the legal
    ranks, she also put in long hours of volunteer legal work on behalf of
    the poor and underprivileged, and served as a leader for more than a
    dozen community groups and charities. Beginning in the 1990s, Harriet
    Miers was regularly rated one of the top 100 lawyers in America and one
    of the top 50 women lawyers in the country.
        Because of her skill and record of remarkable achievement, in 2001,
    I asked her to work in my administration.
    For the past 5 years, Harriet Miers has served our Nation in critical
    roles, including White House Counsel, one of the most important legal
    positions in the country. As counsel, Ms. Miers addresses complex
    matters of constitutional law, serves as the chief legal advisor during
    regular meetings of the National Security Council, and handles sensitive
    issues of executive-congressional relations, among many other essential
    duties. She has led the effort to help nominate outstanding judges for
    the Federal judiciary. She was in charge of the process that

    [[Page 1536]]

    resulted in the appointment of Chief Justice John Roberts.
        Harriet Miers would come to the Supreme
    Court with a background in private practice and high-government service,
    and this puts her in strong company. Indeed, since 1933, 10 of the 34
    Justices came to the Supreme Court directly from positions in the
    executive branch, such as the one Ms. Miers now holds. And no Supreme
    Court nominee in the last 35 years has exceeded Harriet Miers's overall
    range of experience in courtroom litigation; service in Federal, State,
    and local government; leadership in local, State, and national bar
    associations; and pro bono and charitable activities.
        Throughout her life, Ms. Miers has excelled at everything she has done. She's been a leader and a trailblazer
    for women lawyers, and her work has earned the respect of attorneys
    across the Nation. I chose Harriet Miers for the Court both because of
    her accomplishments and because I know her character and her judicial
    philosophy. Harriet Miers will be the type of judge I said I would
    nominate, a good, conservative judge.
        She shares my belief that judges should strictly interpret the
    Constitution and laws, not legislate from the bench. She understands
    that the role of a judge is to interpret the text of the Constitution
    and statutes as written, not as he or she might wish they were written.
    And she knows that judges should have a restrained and modest role in
    our constitutional democracy. Like Justice William Rehnquist and Justice
    Byron White, who were also nominated to the Supreme Court directly from
    legal positions in the executive branch, Harriet Miers will be prudent in exercising judicial power and firm in
    defending judicial independence.
        When she goes before the Senate, I am
    confident that all Americans will see what I see every day: Harriet
    Miers is a woman of intelligence, strength, and conviction. And when she
    is confirmed by the Senate, I am confident that she will leave a lasting
    mark on the Supreme Court and will be a Justice who makes all Americans
    proud.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 7:35 a.m. on October 7 in the Cabinet
    Room at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 8. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    October 7 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.