Few Clues to Miers' Convictions

DALLAS — \o7

\f7DALLAS -- For Harriet Ellan Miers, the road to a Supreme Court nomination began in summer 1994, with an ugly little legal problem involving an exclusive East Texas fishing camp and the soon-to-be governor, George W. Bush.

A caretaker named J.W. Moseley alleged that Bush and the other members -- who included two former Texas secretaries of state and former Dallas Cowboys owner H.R. "Bum" Bright -- had unjustly fired him out of "spite and ill will."

For most of the members, men of established wealth and power, the suit was little more than a nuisance. But for Bush, it carried the potential for public embarrassment that no rising political star needs, especially because there was talk that cabins at the camp, known as the Rainbo Club, had been used to gain questionable tax advantages.

Bush turned to Miers, a relative newcomer to his political team. Although lawyers for the other defendants opted for confidential settlements with Moseley, Miers elected to fight. She not only got the complaint against Bush dismissed, she handled it so deftly that there was no awkward publicity.

"It took awhile to get it disposed of, but it did go away. She did a crackerjack job," said Jim Francis, a Dallas lawyer who originally brought Miers on board as general counsel for the gubernatorial campaign.

A grateful Gov. Bush made Miers his personal attorney -- and a de facto member of his inner circle. It would transform Miers' life.

"She took the pill. She said: 'I'm yours,' " said a longtime GOP strategist in Texas who has worked with Bush and Miers, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"She put her personal life, everything, on hold."

That loyalty and commitment, demonstrated repeatedly in Texas and after Miers followed Bush to the White House in 2001, led the president to reassure skeptical conservatives with the simple statement: "I know her heart."

Some are still unconvinced, however, that Miers can be counted on to deliver swing votes on such ideologically charged issues as abortion and gay marriage.

Part of the reason is that Miers' life has been marked by dramatic religious and political shifts: She grew up Catholic but as an adult became a born-again Protestant. She was raised a Democrat and gave money in 1988 to Al Gore's unsuccessful Democratic presidential nomination bid and to then-Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) when he ran for vice president. But she now speaks openly of her devotion to Bush, whom one associate said she considers a "genius."