“I know her. I know her heart. I know what she believes” – President George W. Bush on Harriet Miers, his nominee for the US Supreme Court.

“The most brilliant man I have ever met” – Harriet Miers on George W. Bush

The Republican party long assumed it knew George W. Bush’s heart. True, there were misgivings about his lavish spending habits, notably on prescription drug subsidies for the elderly. But these were passed off as aberrations, the necessary price of retaining control of the White House.