Daily Briefing: 'Get Out of the Box!'
•Pentagon officials rethink long-term goals; may shift focus to national security and antiterrorism efforts. [ NYT ]
• Bushleaves for G-8 summit in Scotland. [ WT ]
• Bushtells special-interest groups to "tone down the heated rhetoric."Bush: "I will begin to hone in on a handful of candidates over the course of the next few weeks." [ USAT ]
•Partisans likely to drop $50-100m on nomination fight; few disclosure laws for advocacy organizations. [ WP , NYT ]
•Nomination will dominate Senate Judiciary Committee; Republicans want vote by Sept. 30. [ WSJ ]
•Conservatives contemplateO'Connor's replacement: which faction will win out? [ WSJ ]
•Abortion, gay rights, and assisted suicide cases are on the docket for next Supreme Court term. [ WP ]
• Bushnot expected to solicit advice from senators about nomination.McClellan: "I would expect that he would be talking to the majority leader, the minority leader, the ranking members of the Judiciary Committee." [ WSJ ]
• Bush's views and intentions put under the microscope of curiosity; pundits look to predict his desires for Supreme Court. [ NYT ]
•Nomination will affectBush's standing in history. [ USAT ]
•China doesn't like what it hears from Congress: "We demand that the U.S. Congress correct its mistaken ways of politicizing economic and trade issues and stop interfering in the normal commercial exchanges between enterprises of the two countries." [ WP ]
• Plamereturned to CIA last month; their son once banged on the television: "Dad, get out of the box!" [ NYT ]
• Pelosireveals three unreported trips from years ago on eve of holiday weekend. [ WP ]
•With no guarantee of loyalty, Supreme Court justices often surprise presidents. [ NYT ]
• O'Connor's confirmation opened opportunities for female judges and lawyers. [ NYT ]
•Most ofGonzales' inner circle at DOJ was with him at the White House. [ WP ]
•New president of NAACP will focus on economic aspect of civil rights. [ NYT ]