Bob Novak has today's must-read column, about the trouble facing Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers...

George W. Bush's agents have convinced conservative Republican senators who were heartsick over his nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court that they must support her to save his presidency. But that does not guarantee her confirmation. Ahead are hearings of unspeakable ugliness that can be prevented only if Democratic senators exercise unaccustomed restraint.

Will the Judiciary Committee Democrats insist on putting under oath two Texas judges who are alleged to have guaranteed during a conference call of Christian conservatives that Miers would vote to overturn Roe v. Wade? Will the Democrats dig into Miers's alleged interference nine years ago as Texas Lottery Commission chairman intended to save then Gov. Bush from political embarrassment?

Officials charged with winning Miers's confirmation told me neither of these issues is troublesome, but in fact they suggest incompetence and neglect by the White House. To permit a conference call with scores of participants hearing close associates of the nominee predict her vote on abortion is incompetent. To nominate somebody implicated in a state lottery dispute in the past without carefully considering the consequences goes beyond incompetence to arrogant neglect.

Read the whole thing. I think the stuff about the Texas Lottery is particularly interesting and will, I suspect, get the Democrats frothing at the mouth.

Miers is also getting slammed by the Judiciary Committee, even before she gets to testify.

Fred Barnes has it right (at least to some extent) about the conservative revolt against the President.

George Will writes about General Motors and health care. He predicts the end of the corporate welfare state, followed by the state-run welfare state. As we are seeing in Europe, the state-run aspect will be quite resilient, since governments can always tax their way into the black, an option not available event to the biggest businesses.

John Stossel explains the dangerous myths about gun control.