That was why Marvin Myers was surprised when he received a phone call the Monday after Yolanda Majette’s withdrawal. His source was a high-ranking deputy to Attorney General Golden, calling from a pay phone at a Metro station. “Mr. Myers, you don’t know me, but I work at the Justice Department. I have some information you might find very interesting.” He sounded jumpy. “I’m listening,” said Myers. “The president has offered the Supreme Court nomination to Mike Birch.” Mike Birch! Myers almost spit out his coffee. If true, it was a bold stroke, even for Long, for whom audacity had become a trademark. Governor Mike Birch of Florida was the former attorney general and a former prosecutor in Tampa. A moderate (conservatives denounced him as a RINO, or Republican in Name Only) who governed from the middle, he enjoyed a 68 percent job approval rating. Media savvy and attractive, with wavy silver hair and a long-distance runner’s build, Birch was a likely GOP candidate for president.
