Gonzales seems to have Bush ear

Manuel Miranda, former counsel to the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, said conservatives have indications from the White House that Gonzales is being talked about for a seat on the court.

William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, said in a column on the magazine's website that Gonzales would be a mediocre justice and would not be a reliable conservative vote.

Ralph Neas, president of the liberal People for the American Way, said his group has ''serious concerns regarding a Gonzales nomination," primarily over his role in US policies on questioning and treating suspected terrorists.

Bush has jokingly stirred speculation about the fellow Texan. He said this week that the list of potential nominees ''is wide open, which should create some good speculation here in Washington."

Then Bush looked across the table in the White House Cabinet room, and added, ''Make sure you notice when I said that, I looked right at Al Gonzales, who can really create speculation."

Gonzales has deflected questions about his interest in the job and whether he is being seriously considered.

He has acknowledged that critics have a right to their opinion, but said he was concerned only about one man's assessment.

''I'm primarily worried about: 'What does the president think?' " Gonzales said in an interview in July, after Bush had nominated John G. Roberts Jr. to the court, but before Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death created a second vacancy.

Gonzales also casually acknowledged his closeness to Bush when asked whether the president had interviewed him for a court seat. ''I think the president interviewed folks that he felt he needed to interview to get to know and assess their qualifications," he said.

Other possible replacements include Edith Clement, Edith Hollan Jones, and Emilio Garza, all federal appellate judges. Also mentioned are Judges J. Michael Luttig, Samuel A. Alito Jr., James Harvie Wilkinson III, and Michael McConnell; former solicitor general Theodore Olson; Miguel Estrada, a lawyer; and Larry D. Thompson, a former US deputy attorney general.

Gonzales's seven months as attorney general have been relatively quiet, perhaps intentionally so after the tenure of Attorney General John Ashcroft. Gonzales promised a different tone and opened his office to civil libertarians who never got time with Ashcroft.

Gonzales has made no major policy changes and has led the administration's fight to renew expiring provisions of the antiterrorism Patriot Act. He also has continued Ashcroft's pursuit of obscenity cases.