[Ed Gordon:] We turn now to our weekly feature, Political Corner. Today, NPR senior correspondent Juan Williams and his guests discuss health care for veterans and the next Supreme Court justice.
[Juan Williams Reporting:] I'm joined now by Donna Brazile, former campaign manager for Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore in 2000. Also with us, Robert Traynham, deputy staff director for the Senate Republican Committee. Thanks for joining me.
[Ms. Donna Brazil:] Thank you, Juan.
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Thanks, Juan.
[Williams:] Last week the Senate voted to spend an extra $1.5 billion on veterans' health this year. It was in response to a shortfall at the Veterans Affairs Department-in specific, money that would be supplied to take care of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. It was so interesting to hear Larry Craig, a Republican from Idaho, say that, quote, "it was a frustration to me and an embarrassment that there wasn't enough money to take care of American soldiers." And Harry Reid, the Democratic Senate minority leader, said, `This is just the latest example of how poorly the administration planned for and prepared for the war.' Donna Brazile, is Harry Reid right?
[Ms. Brazile:] Well, absolutely. Look, Jim Nicholson, who is the director of the VA, came up to the Hill and he said that more money was needed to take care of some of the soldiers who are coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. Right now VA facilities across the country are no longer accepting new clients, and this is causing a lot of problems. The House bill currently has 975 million; the Senate is perhaps adequate in terms of $1.5 billion, but this again demonstrated the administration did not adequately plan for some of the, you know, returning troops who are back from the war and they're in need of medical care.
[Williams:] Robert Traynham, how are Republicans responding to this charge?
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Listen, Secretary Nicholson came up to the House and to the Senate and explicitly said, `We do not need any more money. We're OK.'And then, sure enough, when we come around to last week-and it looks like we have egg on our face. And the reason why is because now they're saying that we do need additional funding. And so, yes, it was a very frustrating moment, if you will, for the administration to say one thing and then to come around and say, `Oh, no, we changed our mind. We do need this.'
[Williams:] Robert, though, how do you respond to what Donna Brazile just said, that it was an indication of poor planning by the administration for dealing with the aftermath of the war-in specific, dealing with American soldiers coming home with injuries?
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] I'm not sure if it was poor planning. I think it was oversight. And perhaps maybe we're splitting hairs here, but the fact is, is that when the secretary of Veterans Affairs comes up to the Hill and says, `We don't need any more money,'listen, you take them for their word at it because they usually say, `We need more funds.'And so we took their word.
[Ms. Brazile:] Robert is absolutely right. The administration said no money was needed, but these veteran groups have been screaming about the lack of adequate medical care for the troops who are returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. I know personally-because my father goes over to the VA hospital in New Orleans almost weekly to visit those troops, and he personally started calling around saying that they don't have adequate supplies. Those troops are coming back with injuries that, quite frankly, the medical staff-they're unable to supply those troops because they don't have the resources.
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] There's no question about it. This was a very embarrassing moment for the administration. It was embarrassing for the secretary. It was embarrassing for Republicans and Democrats. And the reason why it's embarrassing is be-or was embarrassing is because we are still in the middle of a war. And as Donna accurately mentioned-is that we have troops, unfortunately, that are coming home with health care needs and so forth and with limbs missing. And so this was a politically embarrassing moment. It was a patriotic embarrassing moment. And there's no question about it that our leaders, both on the House and Senate side, Republican and Democrat, very quickly fixed the problem.
[Williams:] All right. Topic two today: the Supreme Court nomination. President Bush was asked on Monday by Judy Kreen of USA Today if he is including women and minorities among the people that he's looking at as a prospective Supreme Court nominee. The president responded that he's considering, quote, "a pretty good size group of people right now and, of course, there's a diverse group of citizens." And he went on to add that it's important that people from around the country know that he's interested in diversity on the court. Robert Traynham, who besides Attorney General Gonzales is a minority that is being seriously considered for this Supreme Court nomination?
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Well, again, I don't want to split hairs, but a minority is a minority. You take a look at Janice Rogers Brown from California, supreme-former Supreme Court justice on the California Supreme Court who is a very accomplished African-American woman. General Gonzales, as you mentioned, is another person, Hispanic from Texas. You also have Priscilla Owen, who is a-obviously a female from Texas. So you have a number of individuals out there that are eminently qualified to serve on the bench. As an African-American, I strongly do-would argue that there should be diversity on the court. And I would hope that when the president searches through resumes and qualifications and so forth, he will take into consideration the need, if you will, for even more minorities on the court.
[Williams:] Now, Donna, what are the key issues among black Americans, Latinos when they look at this nomination? Is it only affirmative action?
[Ms. Brazile:] Oh, no, there's-it's also voting rights. As you well know, many of the voting rights cases involving redistricting and the interpretation of the Voting Rights Act have also been heard before the Supreme Court. That's another important issue.
[Williams:] Do you agree, Robert?
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Absolutely. And if I can add something, what this president has pledged to do-and I hope to goodness that he does do this-is to bring integrity back to the process, is to make sure that people's reputations are not dragged in the mud, to make sure that petty partisan politics are left to the side and to make sure that America is proud of the process, to make sure that-clearly, that the nominee's views are heard and understood and interpreted, but to make sure that the president's nominee gets a fair up-or-down vote and to make sure that his or her integrity is not impugned.
[Williams:] Well, you know, Robert, when you were mentioning having a fair and-a process with some sense of decorum about it, I think back to the Clarence Thomas hearings.
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Mm-hmm.
[Williams:] Is that what Republicans have in mind in terms of a problem that they want to avoid?
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Well, it's not only Clarence Thomas, but it's Justice Rogers Brown. It's also Mr. Gonzales and some other people out there that unfortunately have been maligned, if you will, through special interest groups. And, yes, you are correct. I mean, Clarence Thomas is the prime example of someone that literally went through the mud in terms of his reputation, in terms of his personal life, in terms of allegations and so forth and so on.
[Williams:] All right.
[Ms. Brazile:] That's why we...
[Williams:] Donna.
[Ms. Brazile:] ...must vet these candidates, and the president should consult with senators from both sides of the aisles before nominating someone.
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] I do know that President Bush has extended an invite to Senators Leahy, Reid, Specter and, I believe, Senator Frist sometime next week to come down to the Oval Office to talk about the process.
[Williams:] All right. I want to thank my guests, Donna Brazile, a Democratic political strategist with her own firm in Washington. She's the author of "Cooking With Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics"-and Robert Traynham. Thanks so much to Robert, the deputy staff director and communications director for the Senate Republican Conference. Thank you both.
[Mr. Robert Traynham:] Thank you, Juan.
[Ms. Brazile:] Thank you.
[Ed Gordon:] Join us next Thursday to hear more from Juan and our political insiders right here on Political Corner.