WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush predicted Friday that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers will be confirmed, but a Senate Republican said she must overcome "the Souter factor," underscoring conservative worries that she'll vote the wrong way on the bench.Asked he if would rule out ever seeing Miers' name withdrawn, Bush did not answer directly -- substituting instead words of confidence about her confirmation process. "She is going to be on the bench," he said. "She'll be confirmed."Miers and her supporters are working the phones and knocking on doors to rally conservatives who argue that Bush has reneged on his promise to name justices with proven records as strong conservative."It's the Souter factor," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, referring to Supreme Court Justice David Souter, a little-known judge nominated for the court by the first President Bush who later turned out to be a liberal justice."I think conservatives do not have confidence she has a well-formed judicial philosophy, and they are afraid she might drift and be a part of the activist group like Justice Souter has," Sessions said Friday. "She will need to articulate a vision of the Constitution and the role of a judge that is sound or she could be in trouble with the Republican senators."She met Friday with Sen. Conrad Burns, who called her an "outstanding woman" when Bush first revealed her as his pick. "Ms. Miers has a great sense of humor and a great understanding of the importance of the legal arena in our nation," the Montana Republican said after meeting her."I think conservatives do not have confidence she has a well-formed judicial philosophy, and they are afraid she might drift and be a part of the activist group like Justice Souter has," Sessions said Friday. "She will need to articulate a vision of the Constitution and the role of a judge that is sound or she could be in trouble with the Republican senators."She met Friday with Sen. Conrad Burns, who called her an "outstanding woman" when Bush first revealed her as his pick. "Ms. Miers has a great sense of humor and a great understanding of the importance of the legal arena in our nation," the Montana Republican said after meeting her.Because the 60-year-old Miers spent her career in private practice and as a member of Bush's White House staff, conservatives outside the nation's capital have little to hang their hopes on except the president's word that she would be a judge in the mold of Supreme Court justices Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas."She's got to convince the conservative world that she understands the word 'strict constructionist,"' said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, one of three Judiciary Committee conservatives who met Thursday with Miers. "She's going to have to fill in those blanks and create a comfort level."While Miers worked conservatives inside the Capitol, her White House supporters worked the telephones to reassure grassroots conservatives that she won't become a liberal or a moderate if confirmed by the Senate.Ken Mehlman, the Republican National Committee chairman, and other conservative leaders held a national teleconference Thursday with conservatives, trying to reassure listeners that Miers is the right person to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate whose vote has been critical on issues including abortion and affirmative action.Miers also picked up an endorsement from first lady Laura Bush. "I think she'll be really terrific," she said.But the White House hasn't convinced everyone."I think the president has created political trouble for himself by appointing a cypher after promising something else," said David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union. "She may turn out to be a great judge. I'm sure she's going to get confirmed because Democrats seem to like her, but my own reaction to it is that it is not my fight, and I think that's the way that most conservatives feel about it."Conservatives would have preferred a justice with proven conservative credentials, said GOP Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, a Senate Judiciary Committee member and possible 2008 presidential contender. "We're left gathering shreds of evidence in trying to determine how the candidate would vote on the key issues of the day," Brownback said after sitting down with Miers.In an AP-Ipsos poll taken this week, two-thirds of those surveyed did not know enough about Miers to have an opinion about her. Just 41 percent said the Senate should confirm her, lower than similar ratings for Chief Justice John Roberts after his nomination in July; 27 percent said she should not be confirmed; 32 percent were not sure.Miers is getting support from some prominent conservatives. Former Sen. Dan Coats, R-Indiana, who was ambassador to Germany, will serve as Miers' escort through the confirmation process. Former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tennessee, did the same for Roberts this summer.As a senator, Coats pushed legislation to restrict abortion, tried to eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts because of grants it made to artists he said mocked God, and led the opposition to allowing gays in the military.An internal battle over the nomination may hurt the GOP in next year's congressional elections, said Manuel Miranda, who used to work on judicial nominations for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee. Miranda now runs the conservative Third Branch Conference.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.