Concluding her Tuesday NBC Nightly News story on conservative resistance to the nomination of Harriet Miers, Andrea Mitchell asserted that while “critics on the right say” that it “leaves them depressed and disappointed," their “opposition may not matter for Miers' confirmation. So far, no Republican Senator has joined the chorus of critics." But those who watched ABC or CBS heard something very different. On World News Tonight, ABC’s Terry Moran reported that “in a sign of potential trouble ahead, Republican Senator San Brownback, a leading conservative on the Judiciary Committee, released a statement today saying: 'I am not yet confident that Ms. Miers has a proven track record and I look forward to having these questions answered.'" Over on the CBS Evening News, John Roberts related how “many members of the President's own party remain perplexed by his choice for this critical swing seat." Viewers then heard this soundbite from the Kansas Republican Senator: "You had a number of outstanding potential nominees who had been or were, or are, sitting judges. And so you look at this one and you say, well, why did you go here when you had so many other opportunities?"

(The NBC News Washington bureau is on Nebraska Ave. NW.)

The October 4 Mitchell piece squeezed in a conservative soundbite in her conclusion:

Mitchell: "The Miers nomination, critics on the right say, leaves them depressed and disappointed."

Richard Viguerie, conservative activist: "We spent our entire life waiting for this moment and the President ran from the fight."

Mitchell: "But their opposition may not matter for Miers' confirmation. So far, no Republican Senator has joined the chorus of critics."

—Brent Baker is Vice President for Research and Publications at the Media Research Center