Wonkette

• Patrick Fitzgerald “has assembled evidence that suggests Cheney’s long-standing tensions with the CIA contributed to the unmasking of operative Valerie Plame.” [WP]
• Miers tells Schumer: “No one knows how I would rule on Roe v. Wade.” The White House tries to focus on her qualifications. [WP, NYT, LAT, USAT, WT]
• Conservative “apparatus” built by Rove “has splintered over Miers and broken free from its commander”; “rarely have they turned against a president so normally aligned with them on such a central, legacy-building priority.” [WP]
• “Confluence of crises. . . has some critics asking whether [Andrew Card] needs to clean house or assert himself more forcefully. . . before [Bush] is downgraded permanently to lame duck status.” David Frum: “The lesson of both Katrina and Miers is that the system of decision making in the White House no longer meets the needs of the president.” [NYT]
• Bush’s approval rating slips to 39% in Gallup Poll; only 29% approve of Congress. [USAT]
• DeLay could have saved his position as majority leader if he accepted deal to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. [WP, LAT, USAT]

• Lobbying groups say they will delay big spending on Supreme Court fight until the start of hearings on Miers. [USAT]
• Lawmakers are ready “major confrontation” over budget. [NYT]
• Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio) is under investigation by Florida federal prosecutors for dealings with Abramoff. [WP]
• Leaked emails “show that the government’s response plan, two years in the making, began breaking down even before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.” [WP]
• Miers expressed devotion to Bush in speeches: “Serving President Bush and Mrs. Bush is an impossible-to-describe privilege. . . My admiration [their] leadership has been reaffirmed on virtually a daily basis.” [LAT]
• State officials decry shift of billions of dollars in Medicare costs from the federal government. [NYT]
• Republican commentator Bruce Bartlett dismissed by conservative group for being overly critical of Bush. [NYT]
• Emily’s List turns 20. [WP]