"Outreach," the Bush administration way

The White House makes Michael Mukasey available to conservatives with questions.

Published September 17, 2007 7:40PM (EDT)

Seeking to head off a right-wing rebellion like the one that greeted the president's decision to nominate Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, the White House set up meetings Sunday between Michael Mukasey and six different "conservative constituents."

A senior administration official said today that the meetings were designed to give the "conservative constituents" -- the White House wouldn't say who they were -- an "opportunity" to ask the president's attorney general nominee "any questions" they might have had.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the meetings were nothing out of the ordinary. "We certainly talk to members of the conservative community," she said today. "We have lots of outreach ... We are continuing to reach out to members of all different types of groups that we usually reach out to through the Office of Public Liaison."

So, a reporter asked Perino, will the White House be making Mukasey available to left-wing groups, too?

"That hasn't happened yet," Perino said, "and I wouldn't anticipate it."


By Tim Grieve

Tim Grieve is a senior writer and the author of Salon's War Room blog.

MORE FROM Tim Grieve


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

War Room