America Denis StauntonHarriet Miers is 60, single, a devout evangelical Christian and - in the words of Republican Senator Sam Brownback - "a very decent lady".
But Ms Miers's nomination to the US Supreme Court has so enraged conservatives that some are accusing President George Bush of betraying the political base that put him in the White House. Even Mr Brownback has hinted that he could vote against Ms Miers because he doubts her commitment to overturning abortion rights. The conservative backlash came during a week of unremitting bad news for Mr Bush, whose approval rating hit its lowest ever level yesterday - just 37 per cent, according to a CBS poll.
Republican leaders in both the Senate and the House of Representatives are under investigation for financial irregularities, with House leader Tom de Lay facing money-laundering charges that carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Handcuffs could also beckon for Mr Bush's closest White House adviser, Karl Rove, as a special prosecutor considers invoking criminal charges over the leaking of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent.
The Senate has voted by 90 to nine to limit interrogation techniques used by US soldiers against terrorist suspects in Iraq, ignoring White House claims that new rules could hamper efforts to protect Americans.
The row over Ms Miers has left Mr Bush exposed for the first time in his presidency to harsh, sustained attack from both right and left, as conservatives warn that the right-wing coalition that has dominated US politics since the start of the decade could unravel. Right-wing critics complain that Ms Miers, who has never been a judge but has been close to Mr Bush for many years, is unqualified to sit on the Supreme Court bench.
They argue that the president could have chosen from at least a dozen distinguished jurists who share his conservative approach to constitutional matters instead of choosing a political crony.
What really infuriates conservatives is what they see as Mr Bush's failure to grasp a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shift the balance on the court by appointing a right-wing radical in the mould of Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas. A conservative-dominated court could overturn Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that guarantees abortion rights, outlaw gay marriage and allow a greater public role for religion.
Ms Miers, although undoubtedly a conservative, has no record to show where she stands on such issues or on broader questions such as states' rights and the role of judicial precedent in interpreting the constitution. Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, described the nomination as "a combination of cronyism and capitulation" on the part of an embattled president who feels too weak to risk a confrontation with Democrats over the court.
Other conservatives say the Miers nomination is the last straw for a loyal political base that is already angry at spendthrift policies that have made Mr Bush the biggest spender of federal funds since Lyndon B Johnson.
Mr Bush's response to all this bad news has been to return to the theme that has served him best in the past - the war on terrorism and his responsibility to protect America.
In a speech to the National Endowment for Democracy on Thursday, the president compared violent Islamism to communism and fascism and claimed that its goal was to "establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia".
The president said that the US and its allies had foiled at least 10 serious terrorist plots since September 11th, 2001, including three in the US, although it took the White House almost a day to produce details of the aborted attacks. He said the US would not retreat from Iraq until the insurgency is defeated and democratic institutions are in place. "Wars are not won without sacrifice - and this war will require more sacrifice, more time, and more resolve," he said.
The American people do not share the president's appetite for more sacrifice in Iraq, however, and 59 per cent want US forces to come home as soon as possible.
With petrol prices continuing to rise, Republican unrest growing on Capitol Hill and the US death toll in Iraq heading towards 2000, Mr Bush can expect more political trouble ahead. So far, Democrats have failed to exploit the president's weakness or to articulate the new mood in America after Hurricane Katrina - offering Mr Bush the only glimmer of sunlight in this gloomy autumn of his presidency.