To the Point

Uncle Sam's Lawyer: Solicitor General Nomination

Ted Olson is the attorney who won the Supreme Court case that made George W. Bush President. Now Bush wants to appoint him Solicitor General, the little known but powerful office that supervises and conducts all government litigation before the Supreme Court. But the Senate Judiciary Committee has split along party lines on the nomination in a revival of hostilities from the Clinton era. We learn more about the "the tenth member of the Supreme Court" and whether opposition to Olson is based in ideology or ethics with two former solicitors general and three journalists. Newsmaker: Jeffords on the Fence - A possible change in the Senate's partisan alignment could impact President Bush's appointments and agenda. The Hill's Noelle Straub says that although Vermont Republican James Jeffords has postponed his much anticipated announcement, there's little doubt that he'll change parties in response to increasing philosophical differences. Reporter's Notebook: Palestinian Reaction to Sharon - Although Israel and the Palestinian Authority have agreed to work with the US to end violence in the Mid East, Rami Khouri, formerly of The Jordan Times, calls peace a more elusive goal. He says that it will require Israeli withdrawal from occupied territories and US defense of international law and UN resolutions.