The American Spectator

COURTING PRACTICES br> Changes in the political landscape do not appear to have dramatically changed President Bush’s views on a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Sandra Day O’Connor . /p>

As of Friday, sources close the White House said the long-standing favorite of conservatives to replace O’Connor, Judge Edith Jones, had not yet met with the President to discuss the opportunity.

When asked about the seeming lack of consideration of Jones, a White House source counseled against reading too much into it. “There have been plenty of opportunities in the last few weeks for the President to meet with people under the radar. We’ve done it before, we’re doing it now.”

Bush has met with at least one women, federal appeals Judge Priscilla Owen, though insiders say there are doubts she has the personality to accomplish the kind of PR blitz successfully undertaken by Judge John Roberts.

One reason Owen maybe be given greater consideration is the G.W. Bush’s history with her, compared to G.H.W. Bush’s history with Jones.

“Owen is tied to this President Bush. He fought for her, and she stood by him during that fight,” says another White House source about Owen’s long confirmation ordeal. “Jones is tied to the first President Bush. She was perhaps the alternate pick to [David] Souter. For this President Bush to pick the woman everyone now knows played second fiddle to his father’s greatest mistake might be too much to ask for.”

Another name that has moved quickly forward is former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, who would be nominated having served not a day on the bench. Thompson, though, is almost universally liked by the Bush Administration, worked closely with the President on the Corporate Fraud Task Force, and has no paper trail to speak of from his time in government.

p>However, Thompson, according to current and former associates, is believed by many to be a moderate Republican, with pro-abortion leanings. And while people point to his time as a scholar at the Brookings Institution after leaving the Department of Justice in 2003, there was no liberal like-mindedness in that move, according to Brookings sources. “We wanted a conservative, and Larry was someone we had targeted, particularly because of his ties to business. We thought he’d be good for fundraising,” says a Brookings scholar. br> /p>