You do not need me to tell you that the world is rife with bubbling conflict. Much of it is fueled by old hatreds; much by transformed animosities -- most by religion.
Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court was defeated by conservative ideologues not content with Miers' conservative credentials: she did not have a documented history of social conservatism and the White House was unable to convince its conservative base that she was "one of them." The White House's feeble attempts to quell the conservatives' doubts -- with winks, nods, and a declaration of her devout "Christian-ness" -- proved about as effective as the Bay of Pigs.