Bolton's support for the invasion of Iraq, however, and Giuliani's history with foreign wealth could prove a problem in confirmation hearings.
I remain sceptical although aware of the problem of confirmation bias, the tendency to believe only the evidence that fits one's world view.
It's dispositive on the who, what, when, where and how the system broke down, but it's remarkably weak on the question of "why?" "The problem of confirmation bias — the tendency of people to be trapped by pre-existing assumptions and to select facts that support their own views while overlooking contradictory ones — is a well-established finding of social science," Coll & Co. write.
PRISMA involves a 27-item check list (http://www.prisma-statement.org/), and expanding this would not solve the problem of confirmation bias.
In order to diagnose FASD, physicians look for facial abnormalities, growth problems, central nervous system problems, and confirmation that the mother used alcohol during her pregnancy.
The person familiar with Mr. Coats's situation said that all three men seemed to be in agreement in supporting the "Don't ask, don't tell" rules, and that Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney did not seem worried that Mr. Coats's strong opposition to gay rights in the past would cause serious problems during confirmation hearings.
He saw her health problems as confirmation of the "doubts" he had about his wife, and even accused her of having had a caesarean section "in order to waste his money".
And his secretary of education, Arne Duncan, talked about the problem at his confirmation hearing, saying, "You basically have to have a Ph.D. to figure that thing out".
Geithner, you may recall, had his own confirmation problem: He didn't pay tens of thousands of dollars in payroll taxes when he worked for the International Monetary Fund.
Indeed, Judge Smith was nominated by President Bush to an appeals court but now had the problem of winning confirmation from a branch of government he had just insulted.
