Quick Hits

Here are a few things from the last few days that I've noticed but haven't had time or perhaps inclination to work into an official post.

I'm surprised that more hasn't been made of the Prez ordering aides to take ethics classes. Harriet Miers's office will be conducting the briefings, and they'll cover proper handling of classified material, as well. All staff is required to be there, which includes our pal Karl, though he might've benefitted more from them a couple of years ago. Maybe nobody's talking about it because it's such a blatant Band-Aid for a gaping wound and the jokes just write themselves anyway. I'm sure those of you reading this have already come up with a dozen better lines than I would have.

Over on the Supreme Court beat, Alito's getting the good press, but he's not doing so well among the public. Chris Bowers at MyDD points out that Gallup has Alito polling slightly behind Harriet Miers. Both of them poll significantly behind Roberts, so perhaps the Miers nom did lasting harm to the public's attitude about the Prez's judgment. AP/Ipsos is even worse. Only 38 percent of respondents support Alito's confirmation by the Senate; Miers had 41 percent.

By the way, don't forget to follow the nomination process on SCOTUSblog.

Speaking of Alito, John Aravosis points us to some intriguing writings from the nominee's past. As an undergrad at Princeton, Alito chaired a task force that produced a report concerned with government incursions against privacy. The Boston Globe played up the report's arguments to end discrimination against gays and decriminalize sodomy. In a separate post, Aravosis links to Campus Progress, another blog that's posted a copy of the task force report itself, and provides some excerpts of his own.