A Time to Regroup

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Knowing that the week was likely to produce a convergence of public relations catastrophes, Bush's staff gave him a very busy, very public schedule. He was a patient audience member at a daylong conference that First Lady Laura Bush held on Helping America's Youth, and he worked the crowd in one hotel ballroom for so long that a veteran cameraman said it was like having Bill Clinton back. Bush palled around with Democratic luminary Vernon Jordan at a luncheon and invited a group of military wives to suggest a gift for his 28th wedding anniversary. "Sorry I asked," he quipped when urged to give diamonds.

But there was no escaping or disguising what had happened. More than anything else, it was the Miers meltdown that dissolved once and for all the image of a President whom no one defies and whose luck never runs out. The whole debacle, even Bush insiders say, reflects the problem of a leader who doesn't hear from enough people. "This was entirely avoidable," says an adviser involved in the process. "After Katrina, after Michael Brown, the issue of cronyism was already on the table and a negative. It was incredible to try this."

Although Miers did not formally call Bush with her decision until Wednesday night, by then the deed was all but done. Her meetings with Senators were not winning her any support. One who attended them described her as "smitten by the President," talking endlessly about her admiration for him in her soft Texas drawl. She was unfailingly gracious, but she faced a tough crowd, and the private prep sessions were just as shaky. By that time, conservatives were so riled, even a Bush win would have been a loss. The cost would have been permanent, unforgiving fury from a whole swath of his base--and a Democratic Party smelling blood. Instead, Bush hopes that if he gives his allies a profound sign of respect and acknowledgment of their righteous power, they will agree to unite behind him for the fights ahead.

THE LIBBY MELTDOWN

In many people's minds, the epic fiasco that was the Miers nomination could not have happened if Rove had been at full strength. Tortured by kidney stones, distracted by a circling prosecutor, Rove was not in top form during the 24 days that the nomination was collapsing. There was "a weariness to him you didn't see before," an associate says. "He's very strong, and it's the first time since I've known him that he was fighting for his own political life and not his candidate." It was only after his fourth appearance before the grand jury that aides sensed "a burden off his shoulders," as though Rove judged from the line of questions that he might yet escape.